


Fallen Hero

by WillWork4Bacon



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Abandonment, Biblical References, Dark, Demons, F/M, Mythology References, Original Character(s), Religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-03-15 11:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 82,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3445487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillWork4Bacon/pseuds/WillWork4Bacon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After discovering his powers at a much younger age, Rin is abandoned after his father's death and left to grow up alone. Five years later, he suddenly appears at True Cross Academy much more jaded and with a different purpose in life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Different Past

Yukio Okumara entered his classroom on the first day of the new school year at the Cram School within True Cross Academy. The classroom was currently empty, as it was not yet time for classes to start. Yukio had decided to use this time to prepare his class. He was currently 15, the youngest exorcist ever, hailed as a prodigy by many.This was his first year teaching at True Cross, but he had plenty of confidence in his own abilities as an exorcist. He had only improved since his adoptive father's death five years ago. But that was a distant memory now. He put his bag on the table and began to go through his things. 

Yukio had brought two pistols with him, his main weapons as his mix of a Dragoon and Doctor. He used those pistols offensively against demons while also being able to heal his teammates as a Doctor. His guns were loaded with blessed 9mm silver bullets. The perfect round for taking on most any demon. Yukio put them in the holsters under his arms that were hidden by his trench coat. To the untrained eye, it looked as if he wasn't even carrying weapons. Yukio then got out his supplies for teaching. Pencils, pens, paper, all the necessities. He then felt something in the bottom of his bag. He pulled out a frame with a photo. It was a photo taken 5 years ago with him, Fujimoto, and Rin. It was the last photo they all took together, and it wasn't long after that day that everything went wrong. Tears began to well up in Yukio's eyes as he thought back to his last few days with his father, and with Rin.

* * *

Shiro Fujimoto stood in the open doorway to the monastery with an angry expression. There was a ten year old Rin Okumara outside with a police officer holding him by the arm. Rin had just gotten into another fight, and this time had been stopped by an officer who had seen the whole thing. He had pulled Rin off the other boy and took him into custody. This wasn't the first time Rin had done this, so the officer had decided to just escort Rin back home. Fujimoto was now staring down at him in disapproval. He then smiled to the officer. "Thank you for taking him home officer, i'll make sure he learns his lesson." Shiro apologized to the cop, taking Rin in his own grip now. The officer nodded at Fujimoto. 

"No problem, you have a good day now Mr. Fujimoto." The officer replied. Shiro waved goodbye as the officer left, then promptly closed the front door to the monastery. He then turned around and gave Rin another furious look.

"Alright, what was it this time?" Shiro demanded. 

"He deserved it, that guy was shooting birds for fun!" Rin shouted in defense. 

"So you got into a fight with him?" Shiro scolded the boy.

"Yeah, someone had to do something!" 

"Did that someone have to be you though Rin?" Shiro asked. 

"Well why not?" Rin asked back, starting to calm down a bit.

"Rin, there was a police officer close enough that he saw you throw the first punch. Why not go to him? Or go find the other boy's parents are tell them what was going on?" Rin didn't have a response to that. He decided to remain silent and stared off away from Shiro. "Rin..." Shiro knelt down and put a hand on Rin's shoulder. Your heart's in the right place, but you mustn't take it upon yourself to take care of every situation by yourself. The world has a lot of problems, and it's too much for any one person to handle alone." 

"Well I can still help however I can right?" Rin shot back, looking back at his adoptive father with an look of intensity. "You'll see, one day i'll become stronger and i'll help out the whole world!" Shiro  gave a hearty laugh. 

"The whole world huh, is that right?" 

"Yeah!" Rin repleid without any hesitation. Shiro laughed again. 

"We'll see about that. But if you're going to bulk up and get strong you need to eat. It's time for dinner so eat up, everyone's already inside." Rin smiled with delight at the mention of food. He ran into the dining room, with Shiro following behind him. Rin took his place next to his brother Yukio, who was currently reading a book. Shiro took his seat at the head of the table and dinner officially began. "Sorry we're late." Shiro apologized. 

"Did Rin get into another fight again?" Yukio asked, still staring down at the book in his hands. 

"Heh, it wasn't a fight it was a bloodbath. The cops had to come and pull me off that guy." Rin gloated. 

"You say that like it's a good thing." Yukio responded, looking over to his brother. 

"Now Rin tells me he's going to save the whole world." Shiro told the others. 

"Oh is that so?" One of the other priests living at the monastery commented. 

"You bet!" Rin shouted with confidence. "I'm going to get really strong and protect the whole world!" 

"Well then you better eat a hearty dinner. Gotta get big and strong." Another priest told him with a smile. Rin decided to listen and grabbed a pate full of food. He began to dig in, quickly eating as much as he could. 

"Hey, maybe you could become a priest and run the monastery someday." Shiro commented. "That'd help a lot of people." 

"It would?" Rin asked. 

"Of course, plenty of people come here everyday for helps in all sorts of things." Shiro explained. "We help out the whole community around here. Even your brother Yukio is studying to become a priest." 

"Wait, I thought Yukio was going to be a doctor." Rin asked confused.

"I am. But i'm going be a doctor wherever they need me to be one. So i'll be at some monastery somewhere too, hopefully this one." Yukio clarified. "I'm studying everything from religious text, to modern medicine, to exorcism." 

"Exorcism?" Rin repeated in confusion.

"Yes, exorcism, as in fighting demons." Rin's face lit up a bit when Yukio put it that way. "Plenty of people rely on exorcists for supernatural matters." 

"Really? Well then i'm going to become an exorcist too!" Rin declared. Everyone in the room stopped eating and gave him a surprised stare. Rin faced his brother with confidence. "One day, let's both become the best exorcists we can be and help out as many people we as we can." Yukio was taken aback by this for a moment, surprised to hear his brother say such a thing. He then smiled back. 

Alright." He agreed. Rin grinned with glee and went back to eating his meal. That was the last time they had dinner together.

Two days later, Rin was standing by Shiro's grave in the nearby cemetery. The night prior was when everything went wrong. Rin had run into that boy from the other day, only something was different. The other boy began suddenly began to change into a non-human shape. Rin would have gotten his tongue burned out with a red hot metal rod too if Shiro hadn't shown up. He tossed the boy to the ground and exorcised him right there. Shiro then explained Rin's origin, and that he was the son of Satan. Shiro led Rin back to the church but they were followed, Astaroth, one of Satan's Demonic Kings had followed them. After a brief skirmish, Rin came back and scolded Shiro for abandoning him. Shiro had become weaker in that moment and then became possessed by Satan. Satan had opened a gate to Gehenna in the floor and attempted to drag Rin. He was stopped when Shiro momentarily regain control and sacrificed himself to save his son. Rin stopped the Gehenna Gate and saved himself and Shiro's now lifeless body. Now Rin could only pay his respects in the rain.

He was currently dressed in a black suit and looking down at the grave with a sad expression. He had his sword Kurikara holstered on his back, held there by a sling. The rain only worsened the already dreary mood. His father, who had adopted him at a very young age, was now dead because he sacrificed himself in order to save Rin. Rin couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty as he stood there lost in his thoughts. He did not even hear anyone approaching until they were next to him. When Rin noticed he wasn't alone he looked to his right to see Yukio there. Yukio was dressed in a black trench coat, and although Rin did not know it at the time, that was the attire for most exorcists. Yukio had an unmoved look on his face, almost like a statue. There were flowers in his hands, a small bouquet of them. "Yukio, where have you been?" Rin asked. Yukio didn't respond. He bent down and put the flowers at the foot of the grave. "I haven't seen you since yesterday before dad died. What happened Yukio where were you?" Again, Yukio didn't respond. "What's wrong? Why aren't you answering me? Say something Yu-" Rin stopped talking when Yukio suddenly pointed a gun at him. Yukio had a single pistol aimed right at Rin's head, his finger on the trigger. "What... what's the big idea?" Rin asked, bot confused and scared. 

"I know everything Rin." Yukio finally said something. "I've known all along about you, and about your powers."

"What, you knew?" Rin was startled to learn the truth. 

"For as long as I can remember, i've been able to see Demons. Father helped me, taught me to not be afraid anymore. Ever since that, i've tried devoting my life to becoming an exorcist, just like him. Something else I know, is that there's no one Satan would want to possess more than dad. But dad was too strong willed to allow that, he would never let Satan in. So something must have triggered him. You said or did something, didn't you?" Rin thought back to that night, how he yelled and berated Shiro for lying to him all those year. After calling him a pretend father, Shiro then slapped the boy for saying such a thing. Rin held his head down and began to choke out sobs. He then looked up tearfully to Shiro and begged.

" _Please, you're supposed to take care of me, you can't just abandon me._ " That must have been it. At that moment Shiro felt heartbroken, and Satan managed to get it. When Yukio explained it, it made sense to Rin. It was his fault, their father was dead because of him. 

"So you're going to shoot me then, is that it?" Rin asked, a bit furious now. Yukio glared at Rin from the other side of his gun. 

"No... If I killed you father would have died in vain." Yukio lowered his gun. "But I want you to leave. Don't ever come back to the monastery or let me see you again. Because if you do, then i'll shoot you." Yukio turned his back on Rin. 

"What? Yukio, you can't be serious." Rin fought back.

"Did I not sound serious?" Yukio asked, his voice more dull and lifeless. 

"You can't do this, you can't abandon me like this. You're my brother!" Rin pleaded. 

"I have no brother!" Yukio shouted back in anger. Rin gased in horror at what he just heard, staring wide eyed as Yukio faced away from him. "Now get out of my sight." Yukio then began to walk away. Rin just stood there in the rain and hung his head. He had just lost his family and his home. He was all alone now. The next day, exorcists came to the monastery looking for the son of Satan in order to get rid of him. But it was too late. Rin had vanished, no one knew where he was. There was a brief search that lasted a few months but ended up with nothing. The case went cold, and soon faded from everyone's memory. But eventually it would return to Yukio years later.

* * *

Back in the present day, Yukio was beginning to cry. He silently cursed himself for being so dumb. After a few years had passed, Yukio began to regret what he said that day. He regretted telling Rin that they were not brothers anymore, and for abandoning Rin like that. He hadn't seen him since that day either. No one who knew Rin Okumara had any idea what happened to him. It was as if he vanished from face of the earth. Yukio didn't even know if he was still alive or not, and that thought scared him. He would never forgive himself if Rin was found face first in a ditch somewhere. 

There was then a rasping on the open door. "Knock, knock." Professor Tsubaki, the Physical Education teacher at the cram school, was at the doorway to Yukio's classroom. "Just coming to check on you on your first day-" He cut himself short when he saw the tears in Yukio's eyes. "Is everything alright?" He asked, sounding rather concerned.

"Yes, i'm fine." Yukio answered, wiping the tears from his face. Tsubaki came over to make sure he was really ok. He then noticed the picture in Yukio's hands. 

"Hmm, who's that?" He asked. "With you and Fujimoto." 

"Oh, that's Rin. He's my brother." Yukio told him, now smiling a bit. 

"Brother? I didn't know you had a brother." 

"Yeah, a few years ago we got into a fight when our father died. I told him I never wanted to see him again, I got my wish." Yuki explained. 

Oh my, i'm sorry to hear that." Tsubaki showed his sympathy. "What happened to him?" 

"I don't know. He ran away after that. I haven't seen him since." Yukio replied. 

"Oh dear, well i'm sorry to hear about that. It must be hard." 

"It's fine, I just hope he's alright." Yukio stared back at the lat photo he had with his family. Tsubaki stared down at him with a saddened look. 

"Well I should probably let you get back to it, the ceremony will be over soon and the students will be arriving." Tsubaki reminded his fellow professor. 

"Ah, right." Yukio replied a bit blankly. Tsubaki then exited the classroom and Yukio finished preparing. After about a half and hour students began to enter the classroom. "Welcome to your first day of cram school." Yukio greeted the first three that entered. "Names please." 

"Ryyuji Suguro sir!" The bot in the middle with two color hair and piercings reported. 

"I'm Konekomaru Miwa sir." The short boy to the left spoke up.

"And my name's Renzo Shima." The last one with reddish-pink hair introduced himself last. Yukio nodded and marked them as present, then then three boys took their seats nearby one another. The next student walked into class a few moments later. He was a rather mysterious man who wore a grey cloak concealing part of his face. 

"Name?" Yukio asked.

"Yamada." The man spoke in a deep voice. He then went and took a seat in the back of the class. Two more students came in not long after that. Two girls, one with purple hair tied in twin tails behind each shoulder. The other had short brown hair in a bob cut and green eyes. They both wet up to Yukio's desk to report in. 

"Izumo Kamaki." The girl with twin tails told the teacher. 

"I'm Noriko Paku sir." Noriko introduced herself a bit more shyly. Yukio nodded and smiled to them, marking them down. 

"Well it seems like we're just waiting on one more person." Yukio commented aloud. Then as if on cue, there were footsteps as the last student entered the classroom. "Speak of the devil, name please?" Yukio asked and looked up. Then his heart skipped a beat. Now standing before him was a 15 year old Rin. Rin looked different than he had five years ago. He was not only taller, but he had allowed his hair to grow out longer. It was now just a few centimeters below his chin, and partially covering his face on the right side including his right eye. His expression had changed too. He went from that look of determination Yukio was used to to a jaded and almost lifeless look. He was wearing a black leather jacket with the zipper open over his school uniform. He was also carrying two swords on his right side. They were crossed making an x shape, meeting at his waist. The one with the handle on top Yukio recognized as kurikara. The other was not one Yukio had seen before. It was sheathed in a white  scabbard, and the handle was also white with a silver hand guard. Rin gave a stone faced look to Yukio as they met for the first time in five years.

"Rin Okumara." He responded as if he was a normal student who had never met Yukio before. Yukio nodded, still looking rather surprised. Rin turned away and took a seat and the table in the middle of the room. Some of the other students were thrown off by their teacher's sudden reaction to Rin. Yukio then stood up from his desk. 

"All right, welcome to your first day of training to become exorcists." He greeted the class, now collecting himself. "I will be your teacher, Professor Okumara." Some of the confused students from before now began to wonder if he and Rin ahd some sort of connection. Rin just sat there motionless as if he as just another student. "As you know, our world consists of two planes, Assiah and Gehenna. The realm we live in is Assiah, while Gehenna is the twisted place of reality where all demons come from. While most can not enter our world some manage to get over, and it is our job as exorcists to remove these demons. Now, before we begin does anyone not have their temptaint?" Both Paku and Konekomaru raised their hands. "Alright, come to the front of the class and allow me to give you your temptaint." The two students walked up to the front, feeling a bit nervous. Yukio pulled a small vial of a deep red liquid out from his bag. "This is goblin's blood. If it makes contact with your skin it will summon a few harmless goblins as well as give you your temptaints. Now, give me your arms." Konekomaru and Paku both held out their right hands, with the palms up. Yukio rolled up their sleeves and uncapped the top to the vial. He gave them each a drop of blood on their arms. The blood fizzled and soon became steam on their arms. Then out of nowhere, a few goblins appeared in the air around the class and began to float around. Some of the students stared at them, this being their first time seeing the creature. 

"These are goblins." Yukio explained. "They are low level demons that are pretty harmless. They can't do much on their own besides cause mischief." Yukio was about to regret those words. One of the goblins bumped into the hand he was holding the vial with. The vial fell from his grip and crashed against the ground. The smell of rotten eggs filled them room, making all but Rin cover their noses. 

"Ugh, it stinks." Ryuuji commented. 

"It smells like rotten eggs." Konekomaru remarked in a nasally voice as he covered his nose. 

_This isn't good._ Yukio thought to himself. _At this rate this much blood will..._ He suddenly heard somethign appear behind him. He turned around to see a rather large goblin appear in the class. Konekomaru and Paku both backed up a few feet in fear. 

"What is that?" Paku asked frightened. 

"Crap, it's a hobgoblin!" Yukio shouted. The large monstrous goblin opened its maw and began moving forward towards the class. "Everyone stay back, i'll-" Suddenly there was a swift wind and a brief flash. Rin was suddenly on the other side of the hobgoblin, which had stopped moving now. Rin had his white sword drawn, revealing the blade was made out of silver as well. The blade was out horizontally towards the hobgoblin. The demon then split into two down the middle and howled. It dissolved into a black mist and faded from the class. The otehr few surrounding goblins did so as well. Rin stood back up, having taken a knee after stopping. The others in the class all just stared at him in marvel of his speed. Yukio had his hand on his gun but hadn't even drawn it by the time Rin reacted. He was now staring in shock at Rin's abilities. 

"Apologies sensei." Rin begged pardon. "The angle of my cut was off by a few degrees and the blade was dulled as a result." He spun the blade up in a circle and let the tip into the sheath. He let go and let it slide back into place. "I'll do better next time." 

"That's... fine. You did a good job Mr. Okumara." Yukio told him. 

"Geez, this guy cut through a demon like that and apologized for it?" Ryuuji quietly commented to Renzo. Renzo nodded in silent agreement. Rin then walked back to his seat and sat back down. Yukio let go of the pistol and pulled his hand out of his coat. 

"Alright, now that that is over let us continue on with class."

* * *

The rest of the day was normal, Rin went to his classes as scheduled and then afterwards went to the dormitory set aside just for him. It was the old male dorm that was no longer in use. Rin would have the whole building to himself in order to train and protect his identity as the son of Satan. Rin looked up and stared at the old building with a stoic face. He then entered the old building and had a walk around to find where everything was. He picked out one of the old rooms and threw the bag with his things down by one of the beds. This was his new home now, a place for him to stay. He heard the doorknob turn and the door creak open. He instinctively reached for his lower sword. When the door opened up her saw Yukio standing there in the doorway. Rin stared at him in silence for a moment. 

"There you are. I'm going to be your room mate during your stay at True Cross." Yukio explained with a smile. Rin was silent for a moment, his hand still on his white sword. 

"Very well." He replied in an apathetic tone, letting go of his sword. He then picked his bag back up and walked towards the door, walking past Yukio. "But i'm having my own room while we stay here." Rin told his brother. He then went over to the room next to Yukio's and entered that. Yukio smiled as he vanished from sight. He was different, but at least he was alive. Finally after all those years he had Rin back, and he could begin to fix what he did five years ago. 

 


	2. Something Still Beautiful

Mephisto Pheles was sitting alone in his office, busy with paperwork. His office was an elegant and finely decorated room, one of if not the nicest in the whole academy. Mephisto was humming the tune of Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner as he did his work. There was then a knock at his door that caused him to stop. "You may enter." He called to the person on the other side of the wooden double doors. One of them opened up and Yukio stepped into Mephisto's office. "Ah, Professor Okumara, come in, have a seat." He greeted Yukio. Yukio closed the door behind him and took a seat in one of the hand carved wooden chairs across from Mephsito. "What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Faust sir-" Yukio began.

"Please, we are alone. You may call me Mephisto." He told the young teacher.

"Mephisto, I have to ask. Why did you let Rin join True Cross and the cram school?" Yukio asked.

"Oh that, yes how was it seeing your brother again? I understand that's the first in five years that you've met, correct?" Mephisto asked with a grin. 

"Yes, and I have to say it wasn't really what I expected." Yukio responded unmoved. "But why would you let Rin become an exorcist? You know about his powers and you've been hunting him for these five years. So how did you find him, and why let him join?" 

"Well I didn't really find him as much as he walked into my office much the same way that you just did." Mephsito's answer caused Yukio to look a bit surprised. "He came in and told me that he wanted me to put him in the cram school and that he wanted to become an exorcist. Of course I wasn't going to just let him, I did call my men in to deal with him. But my mind changed when I saw him take down 5 trained exorcists right in front of me." Yukio looked even more surprised now.

"He took on 5 exorcists and once and won?" Yukio repeated in shock. Mephisto nodded. 

"Mhmm, because of him my 5 best men are in the infirmary right now. I had to stop him from killing the last one." Yukio gasped a little in shock.

"Kill?"

"Oh yes, almost ran him through with that sword of his. He wasn't even using kurikara, he was using that other one, meaning he wasn't even using his full power. After watching his profound display of skill I decided to let him join. He showed quite some aptitude in his skills already." Yukio stared in silent awe for a moment. 

"Rin... really did all that?" Yukio asked in shock.

"Yes, I was surprised too. Which is why despite him being the son of Satan I let him join the cram school in order to become an exorcist." Mephisto explained. 

"Sir, are you really sure that's a good idea? I mean if someone found out about his powers..."

"Don't worry about, Rin has already assured me that no one will find out about his true nature. He has it all take care of. By the way..." Mephisto reached in one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a few sheets of paper held together with a paper clip. He threw them on the desk in front of Yukio. "I have a new job for you, it's with Ms. Moriyama at the supply store and her daughter. It seems they're having an issue and are asking for our help."

"Right, understood." Yukio replied, fixing his glasses. "Who will be my partner on this mission?"

"Oh pish posh, you won't need a partner for such an easy mission." Mephisto assured him.

"But sir, it's protocol." Yukio reminded him.

"Oh you are just no fun. Fine, if you must then take Rin with you. I'm sure he can more than handle himself and it'll be a chance for you to reconnect with your dear brother." Yukio had to think about it for a moment. Mephisto was right, this would be a chance for him to try and get closer to Rin again. 

"Alright, i'll do that." Yukio answered as he stood up. 

* * *

Yukio, now in the old dorm, knocked twice on the door to Rin's room. "Rin, may I come in?" He asked, opening the door just a crack.

"Seems like you already have, so might as well." Rin responded emotionlessly. Yukio opened the door the rest of the way and walked in. Rin was sitting on his bed and was reading what looked like a small piece of paper. 

"Hey Rin, what's that you're reading?" Yukio asked.

"Ancient scroll." Rin responded. 

"What?!" Yukio was surprised. "No way, where did you manage to find one of those? They're supposed to be super rare." 

"A contact." Rin replied directly. "What did you want?"

"Well I was just given a mission and don't have a partner for it. I was wondering if you'd like to come along. It'd be a good experience and you'd get to see what a real mission is like." Yuki explained with a smile. Rin looked up at him for a second. 

"Alright, let me just get my things." He roleld the scroll back up and Yukio could now see the bulk of it. Rin went over to the desk in his room, his two swords were hanging on the back of the wooden chair. Rin opened up one of the top drawers and placed the scroll inside. Yukio could see a few more similar looking ones inside. 

"Wha... Rin, where did you get all those?!" Yukio asked, totally stunned. 

"As I said, and contact." Rin replied, fixing his swords to his belt. He then threw on his leather jacket and closed it back up. He was now dressed in that along with black pants and black combat boots. His two swords hung from his right side in the same fashion as they were the day he entered class. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two pills that looked metallic. He put them in his mouth and promptly swallowed them. "Let's go."

A short while later, Yukio and Rin were walking on the bridge towards the small supply shop used by exorcists and the cram school. Yukio used his set of magical keys on the front door to their dorm and exited from there. Yukio decided to use this time to try and reconnect with Rin. "Hey Rin, that other sword you have. Where did you get it?" He asked. 

"It's called Ginkaze*, it was forged by the demon blacksmith Aerarius." Rin told his brother.

"What? You met the demon smith? Sounds like you have some interesting stories." Yukio smiled.

"You could say that." Rin replied dully, but still trying to hold back his anger which Yukio picked up on.

"So, what were those pills you took earlier?" Yukio tried to change the subject.

"Silver supplements, they keep my demon traits down." Rin replied. "In other words I won't have pointy ears, fangs, or a tail so long as I use them." 

"Really? Don't they limit your powers at all?" Yukio asked. 

"No, assuming i'd even need to use them. I've trained so that my physical skills are enough for most." Rin replied. 

"Wow, that's impressive." Yukio commented. 

"Yes, it is." Rin replied dully, again emotionally shutting himself off from Yukio. Yukio frowned a bit as he realized this. 

"We're here." He said as they reached the steps to the supply shop. "Just wait here for a bit. I'll go in and have a talk with the shopkeeper first." 

"Whatever." Rin responded as he walked over to the railing across from the shop and leaned on it. Yukio headed up the stairs and inside the shop. Rin waited outside for a minute or two before he heard something. He picked up on what sounded like someone humming and decided to go check it out. There was a second set of steps next to the ones leading to the supply shop. These curved a bit and led to an area that otherwise could not been seen. That's where Rin heard the humming coming from. He headed down that path and found there was a hidden garden by the supply shop. Rin stopped outside the front gate and looked in. Inside there was all sorts of flowers and plants, arranged in a rainbow of colors. There was also a girl inside. She was around his age with shoulder length blonde hair and a smile on her face as she tended to her flowers. She was dressed in pink kimono with a purple ribbon around her. She looked so happy and content while she was in her own little world in that garden. Rin just looked at the girl solemnly. _I guess there are still some things in this world that I consider beautiful._ He thought to himself. Rin went to put his hands on the gate, but when he did so a barrier activated and caused to door to fall off its hinges. The metal gate door fell inwards to the garden with a loud thud, causing the girl to look over to Rin. He just stood there was a somewhat surprised expression.  _  
_

"Demon!" The girl cried out as she suddenly began to scuttle backwards away from Rin. Those words caused him to revert back to his more jaded personality. He took a step inside the garden. "Stay back!"

"You know, that's not a nice thing to say to the person who's come here to help you out." Rin told her. She suddenly looked a bit surprised as he said that. 

"Wait, you're an exorcist?" She asked. "I thought mama said Yukio was coming over."

"He's inside with your mother now." Rin told her, now standing over her. He noticed that she didn't stand up and run, instead crawling as if her legs would not work. He also noticed what looked like a small long bump under her skin. 

"Oh, then i'm very sorry. Please forgive me." She turned herself around and bowed apologetically to him. "Umm, would you like to help me?" She offered. Rin again looked at her a bit surprised. 

Back inside the shop, Yukio was sitting down with the shop owner and discussing her daughter. "Her condition's only gotten worse. She can't even walk anymore and she refuses to tell me what's wrong. She just spends all day in that garden with the plants." She finisehd explaining to him.

"I see." Yukio nodded. "Is she there now?" 

"Probably." She answered, sitting up and leading Yukio out back to check on the girl. 

In the garden Rin was helping the blonde girl plant a new flower. She poured a brown and green liquid into the hole Rin dug while he held the plant. "That smells disgusting." Rin commented, making a scrunched up face at it. 

"It's manure!" She told him a bit enthusiastically. "I mixed it myself, my grandma taught me how to do it." Rin then put the plant in the hole and the girl moved the soil around it with her hands. "Thank you for helping me, i'm sorry I called you a demon at first. That gate is supposed to have a barrier that prevents demons from entering so that's why I thought you were one." She explained.

"I see." Rin replied a bit dully. 

"But you're actually a pretty nice guy." She smiled at him.

_Nice? That's something I haven't heard in awhile._ Rin thought to himself. The girl then offered him her hand. 

"My name's Shiemi Moriyama, it's nice to meet you." Rin just stared at her. "Huh, what's wrong?" 

"You mixed poop with that hand." He reminded her. 

"Oh, right." She then offered him her other clean hand. This one he shook. "So what's your name?"

"Rin Okumara." He told her.

"Okumara? Oh, are you and Yukio brothers?" Shiemi asked with a smile. 

"We were." Rin responded dryly. 

"Huh?" She looked at him confused. 

"Well what do we have here?" Yukio asked as he and Shiemi's mother entered the garden. He was smiling at the two of them. "Looks like you two are getting along."

"Tch." Rin made a noise of irritation at Yukio, then getting back on his feet. 

"Hi Yuki!" Shiemi greeted him.

"Hello Miss Moriyama." He greeted her back with a smile. 

"Shiemi, I called Yuki over to take a look at your legs." Shiemi's mother told her.

"What? But i'm fine, there's nothing wrong!" She defended. 

"You're lying." Rin replied dully, causing her to look at him a bit surprised. "I saw the end of the injury of your leg, looks like a protrusion. Most likely a deklap root, this garden would be the perfect place for one to hide." Yukio knelt down and took a look at her leg, gently taking hold of her ankle and lifting her kimono slightly.

"Looks like he's right." Yukio concurred. There was in fact what looked like a root growing in Shiemi's right leg. "Deklaps are usually benign, but if you've been exposed to one long enough they can start to take hold of someone." Yukio explained. "Rin's also right that it would do very well in hiding here since it usually takes the form of a plant." Yukio began to look around for anything that looked out of place.

"Alright Shiemi, where is it?" Her mother demanded. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shiemi looked away from her mother as she tired to defend herself. "I'm fine, I just feel a little tired is all... Eep!" Rin suddenly grabbed her by the back of the collar and hoisted her into the air. Her feet were dangling a few inches off the ground as he did so. He then set her on her feet and Shiemi almost instantly collapsed. 

"You can't even stand up and you think you're fine?" Rin interrogated her. 

"I... i'm just a little tired from working all day." She lied. "I would never allow a demon into this garden, I love it too much." Her mother sighed. 

"After he grandmother died all she does is spend time in this garden. She tries to take care of it like it's her burden and locks herself away in here." Shiemi's mother explained. 

"I see..." Yukio replied. "Shiemi, why don't you and I have a talk? One on one." Yukio asked, smiling at her.

"Eh? Well I would love to but there's still so much I have to do. I still have to put the rose arbor up, I never got around to that ever since grandma died." She replied, feeling a bit sad at the memory. 

"Rin can take care of that, right Rin?" Rin scowled at his brother showing his disapproval, but said nothing on the matter. 

"Oh, but that's a two person job. He can't do it by himself." Shiemi countered. 

"I'm sure he can handle it. Why don't you get to it Rin?" Yukio told him with a smile. Rin still scowled at him. 

"Pain in my ass." He muttered under his breath, pulling out a small notepad and pencil. He began to scribble something down.

"What's that?" Shiemi asked.

"A notepad, i'm creating a summoning circle to summon a familiar." Rin explained dryly. 

"Rin, you're a tamer too?" Yukio asked. "I never knew you could summon a familiar."

"I can summon ten." Rin told his brother.

_10?_ Yukio thought to himself in surprise. _Being a tamer in general is an uncommon feat, and being able to summon more than one type of familiar is rare beyond that. But he can summon 10 different types? That's incredible._ Rin then put his thumb in his mouth against one of his incisors and cut his thumb. He put a dab of blood on as an offering and chanted.

"From blood of crimson red, I hereby summon you back from the dead." After he spoke that there was a circular gust of wind around Rin. It then blew outwards and there was suddenly one more body in the garden. There was what looked like a man dressed in samurai armor face down on the ground and snoring loudly. Most of them just stared awkwardly at him, except for Rin who stared kicking the back of his head. "Wake up you lazy drunk!" Rin scolded the man.

"Ow!" He cried out, rubbing the back of his head and sitting up. When he sat up everyone could see his face. It was clear at that point that this person was not human. his face was sunken in a dry with unnaturally pale white skin. His eyes were black with green iris  and his eyebrows were white as snow. "I was just trying to take a small nap and you have to go and summon me." Yukio then gasped a little when he began to make out what he could of the man's face. 

"Wait a minute, Rin, is that Tetsunochi Gunba? The infamous war lord from the 18th century?" Yukio asked shocked. Shiemi and her mother both seemed a little shocked too after Yukio had said that. 

"Sure am!" Tetsunochi stood up and waved at Yukio. "The Fearsome Shogun Gunba, whatever I wanted I conquered. I had one of the largest armies in Japan during the era and ruled over near half of it!" He gloated. "But I died an unfortunate early death from cholera." He hung his upper half down in defeat. "Now i'm one of the familiars for this brat." He moped. 

"After his death, Tetsunochi was turned into a demon as punishment for his crimes. He was denied entrance into the afterlife." Rin explained. 

"But now i'm more powerful than ever!" He gloated, his eyes burning with the need to fight. "So, where are we anyway? Doesn't look like much of a battleground." He asked as he looked around the bright garden. 

"We're in the garden next to the supply shop. We're going to put up a rose arbor." Rin told him, walking to the pile of wood that was the fallen arbor. 

"What, are you serious?!" Tetsunochi yelled. "You summoned me to decorate a freaking garden?!" 

"That's right." Rin replied in his stoic voice. Tetsunochi hung his head and sighed. 

"Someone kill me. Oh wait!... i'm already dead." He commented in defeat. He followed Rin to set up the arbor in Shiemi's garden.

A short while later, Yukio and Shiemi were sitting on the steps to the back entrance of the supply shop while Rin and his familiar set up the arbor. "So Miss Moriyama, tell me more about your grandmother." Yukio asked her.

"Oh, alright. But you can call me Shiemi." She told him. "My grandma was the closest person to me in the world. I was very ill as a child and did not go to school or make friends like most people because of it. But my grandma was always there for me, always took care of me. She always loved this garden." Shiemi looked warmly over the garden  that she had tried so hard to take care of. "One day she was setting up the rose arbor in the garden, but I left to go search for the Garden of Amahara."

"Garden of Amahara?" 

"Mhmm." Shiemi nodded. "My grandma always talked about it. She said it was God's garden, where God gathers all the plants in the world into one marvelous garden. I've  always dreamed of seeing it. But when I got back that day, she had died when the arbor fell on her." Shiemi looked down with a bit of sadness. "Ever since then, i've tried my best to take care of this garden in her place, because I feel guilty for her death." 

"Shiemi, you really shouldn't blame yourself. There was no way you could have known." Yukio explained to her, trying to console her. 

"I know, but I can't help but feel like I could have stopped it. Now all I want to do is take care of the garden."

"I understand, but you can't allow a demon to let you think it'll help out." Yukio let her know. "This demon is just using you to get what it wants." Shiemi was silent. "Shiemi, if your grandmother was here would she want to see you like this?" Shiemi looked a little surprised now. "I think she'd want you to take care of yourself more than this garden." Yukio told her, causing Shiemi to think deeply.

"We're done." Rin reported in, walking up to the two of them with Tetsunochi beside him. Yukio and Shiemi looked over to see the rose arbor fully set it.

"Ah, it looks great!" Shiemi complimented. 

"Yeah, good job Rin." Yukio agreed and smiled at his brother. 

"Yes, we set up a stupid flower arbor." Tetsunochi replied sarcastically.

"I think i've held you here long enough. You're free to go." Rin responded to his obvious disdain. He pulled out the notepad he wrote on earlier and tore the paper from the page, then tearing it in half."

"Bout time." Was the last thing Tetsunochi said before disappearing back to Gehenna. 

"So what happened here?" Rin asked.

"Shiemi was just telling me more about herself. She feels guilty because she left to go find the Garden of Amahara when her grandma was putting up the rose arbor that fell on her and killed her." Yukio explained. "But it's not your fault Shiemi." He smiled reassuringly at her. Shiemi just stared at the ground in remorseful thinking. 

"If it makes you feel any better, the garden is real." Rin told her. Shiemi looked up to Rin in total surprise. "I've read about it from ancient scriptures, the Garden of Amahara is in fact real." 

"Really? So I still can find it?" Shiemi's eyes lit up. 

"No." Rin cut down her hope with one word. Shiemi suddenly began to feel very disappointed. "The Garden of Amahara is a special place in the afterlife, on the other side of the pearly gates. So i'm sure that means your grandmother has found it now." Rin explained. Shiemi looked down as she thought about this.

"Well I think it's about time for us to be heading out." Yukio cut in, standing up from the steps. "Think about what I said Shiemi." He smiled at her.

"Ok... I will!" She looked up and smiled back. "And Rin..." He looked back at her one last time. "Thank you for that, it really means a lot." She smiled warmly at him. He looked a bit surprised again, but quickly regained himself.

"Yeah." He replied dully. Rin and Yukio both headed out the garden and back to the walk to the exit.

"That demon's still in there somewhere." Yukio told Rin on the walk back. "If only we could have found where it's hiding..." 

"It's a small purple flower, about 2 meters from the center." Rin told his brother.

"What?!" Yukio asked shocked.

"I can sense demonic presence, I had that demon pegged the moment I knew there was a deklap." Rin explained.

"Well then why didn't you say something earlier?" Yukio asked angrily, feeling a bit irritated that his brother would do such a thing. 

"Because if that stupid girl doesn't learn her lesson then another one is going to get in and we'll be right back to square one." Rin explained. Yukio grunted in irritation, but made no direct argument. Rin, at least in his own way, was right after all. IF they just went in and exorcised the deklap it would be entirely possible for another one to appear and start to possess Shiemi again. Yukio thought of Rin as cruel for doing it, but he did have a point on Shiemi needing to learn her lesson. He didn't say another word to Rin as they walked back to the dorm. 

* * *

Later that night, Rin was on the floor of his room doing one handed push-ups. He was using his right arm to lift himself while he held his left behind his back. Part of his workout routine that he had begun during his training. Something that no doubt helped him get to where he was now. his workout was interrupted when Yukio knocked at the door again. "What is it?" Rin asked, still suspended from the ground with one hand. Yukio then entered dressed in his exorcist gear. 

"Something's going on with Shiemi, we have to go back." Yukio told him. 

A short while later they arrived at the garden next to the supply shop. It was late at night when they arrived, yet they found Shiemi kneeling down beside some plants and watering them. They both approached her. "Shiemi, what are you doing?" Yukio asked. "Why are you out this late I night."

"I-I have to protect this garden!" She said frantically. "My grandma wouldn't want me to neglect this garden, it's break her heart!"

_Crash_

Shiemi and Yukio both looked to sound of the sudden crash. What they saw was a smashed flower pot and Rin nearby. He kicked another one and broke that too.

"What are you doing?" Shiemi questioned in horror. She made her way over to him as fast as she could but not before he broke a third pot. "Please, stop! I have to protect this garden!" Rin suddenly turned around and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up so that they were face to face?

"What are you going to do to stop me? I'm bigger and stronger than you!" He spat at her fiercely, almost as if he was actually going to fight her if she did anything about it.

"I...I..." She began to tear up. Rin suddenly let go and she fell to the ground.

"Shiemi, your grandmother wouldn't want you destroying yourself like this. She loved you the way you. Believe me, if you allow yourself to continue on like this, you'll become a different person entirely. Someone your mother and grandmother wouldn't even recognize anymore." He lectured her, now back to his composed self. Shiemi looked up at him with a mix of surprise and confusion. 

"I... you're right." She admitted. "Grandma would never want me to be like this, how could I be so stupid?" She began to cry, holding her hands up to cover her eyes. 

"So you're goign to change and not let this demon control you anymore?" Rin inquired. Shiemi nodded with her face still covered. 

"I won't, i'll get better and be like I used to and move back into my house." She promised. 

"Good, then there's just one thing left to do." Rin drew his Ginkaze sword. He began to walk to the flower that the demon was posing as. "I had you figured out the moment I saw that girl. It's over." 

"No! I won't let you tale her!" A female demonic voice called out. Roots suddenly shot out of the ground under Shiemi and dug into her leg. 

"Aiyeee!" She cried out as she was hoisted into the air and taken control of. Yukio jumped back next to Rin and pulled out one of his pistols. The dekalp took form and held Shiemi's unconscious body close to it as a shield. 

"Just try to stop me!" She taunted to two boys. 

"So this is the dekalp." Yukio commented. Rin pulled out his notepad and began to scribble on it again. 

"From blood of crimson red, I hereby summon you back from the dead." He chanted. Rin's familiar, the warlord Tetsunochi, appeared before them once more. This time he was awake and on his feet. 

"Huh, what am I doing back here?" He asked, looking around the garden. 

"Look over there." Rin told him. Tetsunochi looked over to see the dekalp, along with the hostage. 

"Oh boy, time to see some action." He replied, drawing his own katana. 

"Now that no one else is around, it's time for me not to hold back." Rin suddenly drew kurikara with his right hand, holding ginkaze in his left and dual wielding them. His blue flames appeared around him as he drew his second sword, and he was now engulfed in them. The blue flames burned brightly around him like an aura. 

"Ha ha ha, just try it!" the deklap prodded. 

"Alright, we will!" Tetsunochi shot back.

"Hold on just a minute." Rin interrupted. "The deklap is using her as a shield, any direct attacking would harm the girl as well." 

"So?" The familiar asked, implying that it did not matter. 

"So we can't just cut it down." Rin answered anyway. There was a click as Yukio disengaged the safety on his pistol. 

"Guess i'll just have to shoot it then." He replied smugly. 

"What?! You wouldn't!" The flower demon responded in shock. 

"Try me." Yukio grinned. He pulled the trigger and fired. The bullet flew from the gun but did not hit its mark. Rin held out his sword and cut the bullet in half, causing it to lose its velocity and fall to the ground in two pieces between them and the dekalp. Both Yukio and the deklap looked surprised at this. 

"I'm impressed Yukio." Rin told his brother. He turned his head a bit to show he had a bit of a grin on his face. "I never thought you had it in you to shoot and innocent person. But how about you just stay back and let me handle this." Rin then turned his head to his familiar. "I'm going in, when I give the word I want you to finish it." 

"Will do." Tetsunochi acknowledged with a salute. Rin lowered himself a bit and ran right for the demon. He stopped in front of it and began slashing furiously. His moves were to quick to be seen precisely, but the sound of swinging metal and the trail of his blades could be seen. After a few seconds he ceased his attack and sheathed both of his swords, confusing the dekalp. Then the roots holding Shiemi suddenly broke apart in hundres of finely cut peices. Shiemi fell from the monster's grip and was caught by Rin.

"What?! He cut her out?!" The dekalp could only shout in shock. "How is he so fast?" Rin jumped back away from the plant.

"Now!" He ordered. Tetsunochi ran full speed at the dekalp. 

"Let's finish this!" He shouted. "Demon whirlwind!" Tetsunochi spun around so fast he appeared as a tornado like funnel with a pointed end that was aimed right for the demon. He hit it and the torque from his spin began to tear into it. 

"GAAHH!" The dekalp cried out as it was struck by Tetsunochi's attack. He then shot through it and the dekalp was torn into pieces by the attack. Tetsunochi landed on the other side of it. Yukio stared in amazement at the cooperative attack that Rin and his familiar just pulled off.

"Yukio." Rin called in his apathetic voice. "While i'm surprised you were willing to shoot through an innocent person, you can't do that. Once you take a life there's no going back from that. It's a path that I can tell you that you should not go down. Believe me, you don't want to end up like that." Rin gave him a lecture now. Yukio just stared at him in awe that he would say such things like he is now. Rin then set the still unconscious Shiemi on the ground. "You're done here Tetsunochi." Rin took the page from his notepad and tore it, once more releasing his familiar back to Gehenna. 

"Hey Rin." Yukio got his attention. He then released the mag from his gun and showed Rin that he was using different bullets. "That bullet I shot at her with, it was plant vitamins. It only would have stung for a little. But it's nice to see you still care." Yukio smiled at his brother. Rin looked just a bit surprised for a brief moment, before turning his head away and looking frustrated. 

"Tch, whatever." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Ginkaze is supposed to translate to "Silver Wind" if this is not correct please forgive me, I do not know Japanese and used a direct translator instead.


	3. Training Day

A young Rin was huddled under a cardboard shelter at the end of an alley. It was raining and both he and his makeshift shelter were soaked. The cardboard was barley able to stand up anymore and he'd be lucky if it made it through the night. He had a black jacket over his head as he sat there with his arms around his knees. He was trying his best to stay warm but only had a white t-shirt and denim jeans under that jacket. His face was buried in his knees as he moped miserably in his situation. It had been three weeks on his own after his father died. He had no other place to go, no real friends, he was all alone in the world. "I'm so cold." He said to himself weakly. "Father, Yukio, where are you guys? Why did this have to happen to me?" Rin sat there in misery and loneliness. Kurkara was on the ground to his right. He reached down and grabbed it. "I can't take it anymore. I don't want this." He cried. He lifted up his sword and unsheathed it. His blue flames surrounded himself. While they did help keep him warm that wasn't his intention.

He turned the sword around and pointed  the blade towards himself. He now got on his knees as he lifted the hilt of the sword high. "I don't want to live in this world anymore." Rin prepared to strike. In one quick motion he brought the sword down and impaled himself through the gut. He coughed up some blood and fell face down against the cold and wet ground and his flames went out.

* * *

Back in the real world, Rin suddenly awoke with a cold shudder from his nightmare. His eyes were wide open but he was still lying down in his bed. It was late at night, he'd have to get up for school in a few hours. He brought his hand up to his face in both tiredness and agitation. "Damn it, i'm still too weak."

The following morning, Rin walked into class feeling a bit groggy from the night. Though he was feeling a bit tired, he did not show it and kept up his usual demeanor. He hid behind that unfeeling and cold face, to him emotions were useless. They would only drag him down from what he needed to do. As he entered he saw he was the last one to class that day. He went over to take his seat at the center table to see there was now someone sitting in the seat next to his. It was a familiar face, and he saw the cute blonde girl smile up at him. "Hi Rin!" Shiemi greeted him, her voice as kind and gentle as ever. 

"Miss Moriyama?" He looked almost surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?" 

"Well I was so grateful to you and Yuki saving me that I decided I want to be an exorcist as well." She explained. "Plus I was really hoping it'd help me get closer to Yuki." Her eyes gleamed when she told him that last part.

"I see..." He responded a bit coldly. He then sat down next to her and waited with the others for class to start. Not long after Yukio entered the classroom and went to his desk in the front. 

"Alright, class is in session." He told them as he reached his desk. "Now you all know you're supposed to have a test today but before we start that we have a new student." He turned his attention to Shiemi and smiled at her. "Miss Moriyama, would you please introduce yourself to the class?" He asked. She nodded and stood up with a new found confidence. 

"My name is Shiemi Moriyama, and i'm here to help people like the exorcists who helped me." She stated aloud. Her words reminded Rin of a fond memory of when he was once like that. Something that he had long since given up on. Yukio nodded with a smile and Shiemi sat back down.

"Alright, now on with the tests." 

The next day they were all sitting there in anticipation of their test scores. All except for Rin who was as emotionless as always and sure that he aced it. When Yukio entered the room he was already holding a stack of papers with him. "I have your test scores here and I will be handing them back out to you." He announced from the front of the classroom. As he started to pass the students their tests back Rin noticed Shiemi had even even brighter look on her face that normal. 

"You seem cheerier than usual today." He noted to her. 

"Oh, well it's because i'm sure I got a good grade on my first test." She told him.

"Because you've studied herbs and plants your whole life?" Rin asked.

"Mhmm." She nodded to him with a smile. 

"Shiemi." Yukio called her name as he approached with her test. She smiled brightly at him. "What is Mr. Sanchez?" 

"Ummm, you break off the skin and apply it to burns." She responded feeling a bit nervous.

"It's called aloe vera." Rin corrected her. 

"How about Mr. Yellow?" Yukio asked.

"Uh, you ground it up and use it as an anti-inflammatory or for cooking." She told him.

"Tumeric." Rin once again corrected. Shiemi looked over to him in surprise. She did not expect he would know all this too. 

"I don't mind if you make up your own nicknames for plants but please try to learn the correct ones in the future." Yukio told her. He handed her the test, revealing that she had earned only a 62 on it. Shiemi felt disheartened from seeing her low grade. "Don't let it get to you too much." Yukio tried to cheer her up.

"Yeah, don't let that smartass next to you get to you." Ryuji told her. Rin glanced over to the other student. 

"I wouldn't make fun of Rin if I were you Ryuji, he's the only one who got a perfect score." Yukio told the other student as he handed Rin his test. Rin looked down to see a '100' marked in a circle at the top of his test. Ryuji's jaw dropped after that. He then gritted his teeth at Rin. Ryuji was handed his test and glared down at his 98. It was still a good grade, but he thought for sure he'd be the top of the class. Yet the quiet dark kid had surpassed him. 

"If you want some advice, don't do that again." Rin told him from across the room, still keeping his head forward though. 

"Do what again?" Ryuuji demanded. 

"Underestimate someone. If you do that in a fight you're as good as dead." Rin explained. Ryuji gritted his teeth at the other student. 

"Oh yeah, and who the hell are you to give advice like that?" Ryuji demanded. 

"Someone with plenty of experience." Rin told him, now looking Ryuji dead in the eyes. Ryuji gritted his teeth and glared over at Rin. He was about to stand up and start something too. 

"That's enough, both of you." Yukio intervened. Rin stared forward again.

"Yes sensei." He replied.

* * *

 

After class, Yukio was sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree in one of the courtyards of True Cross Academy. He was busy reading a small black paperback book as he sat there in his free time. Between his busy schedule of teaching and taking classes it was nice to have a little bit of free time to himself. The noises of students around the courtyard socializing and moving to and from classes was background noise to him. He was subdued in his book in his tranquil alone time. He only looked up when he noticed someone approached him. Yukio looked over the top of his book to see Shiemi standing in front of him with a bright smile on her face. She was holding two bento boxes in her hands as well. "Hi Yuki! Mind if I join you for lunch?" She asked politely.

"Not at all Miss Moriyama." He told her with a smile.

"Thank you, and you can call me Shiemi if you'd like." She told him as she took a seat next to him.

"Can't, i'm still your teacher remember? It'd be improper for me to address my students like that."

"Oh, I see..." She responded a bit disheartened. "Umm..." She turned to him and nervously offered one of the bento boxes. "I made this for you, if that's ok." Yukio looked a little surprised at first but smiled back at her.

"Thank you Miss Moriyma, I appreciate it." He put down the book and took the box of food offered to him. When he opened it up he caught the aroma of delicious home cooking. "It looks great." He complimented. 

"Mhmm." Shiemi nodded with a smile. "It's my way of thanking you for rescuing me back at the garden the other day. I never got to thank you properly so I hope this will do." Yukio's smile began to slowly fade after she explained that to him. He put the lid back on the box and handed it back to her. Shiemi looked concerned by this gesture. 

"I'm sorry Miss Moriyama, but I can't accept this. I wasn't the one who saved you, it was Rin." Yukio explained.

"Eh?" She was surprised to hear that. 

"I was about to trick the dekalp into releasing you. I shot at it with a plant vitamin round. It would have only stung you for a bit, but the dekalp thought it was a real bullet and would release you as its shield. Rin thought it was a real bullet too and stopped it. He cut you out of the demon and finished it off with his familiar. So he's responsible for saving you, not me." Yukio explained to her. Shiemi looked startled, then staring down at the bento boxes in her hand. 

"I see..." She responded softly. She then stood up and turned to face Yukio. "Thank you for telling me this Yuki, gotta run!" She suddenly took off and headed elsewhere. 

"Have a good day day, don't be late for your P.E. class." Yukio called back as she departed. He picked his book back up and continued where he left off.

In another courtyard elsewhere in True Cross, Rin was sitting alone by himself on the edge of a fountain. His eyes were closed as he was alone in his thoughts. He was used to being alone by now. To him, all that mattered now was his thoughts and planning along with his training. He knew his purpose in life, and he had to fulfill it. He only cracked one eye open when he noticed someone had approached him. He saw Shiemi standing there in front of him smiling. 

"Hi Rin!" She greeted him.

"What is it?" He asked coldly. 

"I made you this." She handed him one of the bento boxes now. "It's a thank you for saving me back at the garden." Rin looked down at the small box for a moment. 

"Alright." He took the bento box from her. Shiemi sat down next to him as he opened it up. He began to eat the food within without a word. 

"Umm, how is it?" She asked feeling a tad nervous.

"It's good." He replied dully. Shiemi felt happy to hear that from him. He went back to  eating and she began to eat hers. 

"Umm, hey Rin." Shiemi tried to make conversation.

"Hmm?" 

"Do you have any friends?" 

"What?" He tilted his head in confusion .

"Umm, well I..." She began to blush.

"Well isn't this cute?" They heard a familiar voice call out. They both looked to the left to see Ryuji approaching with his friends Konekomaru and Renzo. "Looks like the cute couple are having a good time."

"We're not dating." Rin stated blankly. 

"Oh yeah, what are you guys just friends?" Ryuji asked with a bit of attitude.

"Friends?" Rin repeated, looking back down to his food. "That's something I can't say I have." Shiemi looked a little surprised and felt a little hurt he said that.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Ryuji asked confused. 

"Did I stutter?" Rin shot back with his emotionless tone. "I don't have anyone I can call a friend." He then took another bite of food. Ryuji looked angry again. 

"What the hell kind of thing is that to say? Are you trying to make me feel sorry for you?" Ryuji demanded. 

"Why would I want your sympathy? It would do nothing for me." Rin replied. Ryuji was starting to get infuriated now. 

"Just who the hell do you think you are punk? Acting like some cool hotshot and saying things like that?" Ryuji demanded. 

"Who are you calling a punk Sid Vicious?" Rin's response got a snicker from Renzo. He was quickly silenced by a glare from Ryuji and Renzo suddenly tried to play it cool. "I just speak the truth, or at least what I perceive." Rin took another bite of food. Ryuji gave off a low growl.

"You know i'm really smart and good when it comes to this stuff too, but I don't act like a cold douchebag like you. Do you think you're cool cause you hang out with that girl?" Rin was about to take another bite of food but stopped when he heard that. He put his chopsticks in the box and laid it on the fountain beside him. He stood up and got up in Ryuji's face. The two of them had an intense stare down in a tense moment. It seemed almost as if a fight was about to break out. 

"Woah, break it up you guys." Renzo told them and he and Konekomaru got in front of Ryuji and tried to hold him back. 

"Yes, please no fighting!" Shiemi got in front of Rin's way in order to try and stop him. 

"Fine, i'll leave for now. But this isn't over you jerk." Ryuji told Rin with a scowl. He then turned away and left the same way he arrived, with Renzo and Konekomaru behind him. Shiemi let out a sigh of relief. 

"That was close." She commented. "Rin, you shouldn't go picking fights with people like that."

"Why?" He asked staring down at her. "He was the one trying to start an issue with me."

"Well, that was wrong of him to do that but you shouldn't go trying to fight everyone like that. You can't take such a burden upon yourself." Rin gave her a solemn look as she repeated what his father once told him years ago. Rin sat back down and picked his food back up.

"I do it because I have a firm belief in something." He took another bite of food. "Evil should be punished." 

* * *

Later at their P.E. class, Rin and Ryuji were running from a Leaper that was chasing them. It was a demon that took the shape of a very large frog. The creature was also bound by a chain connected to a central column. On top of that column was a platform where the P.E. teacher Professor Tsubaki could stop the large beasts before anyone got hurt. "This isn't a race you know!" Tsubaki called down to the two students. "This exercise is supposed to teach you how to learn the movements of your enemy." Despite this Rin and Ryuji still kept running away. 

"That's because if this was a race I would have already won." Rin commented to himself.

"Oh yeah?" Ryuji shouted back at him. Without any further word Rin suddenly began to pick up speed and got farther and farther ahead of Ryuji. Soon he was gone from Ryuji's sight and far ahead. Ryuji only saw him again when Rin suddenly came up behind him, making a whole lap past him and the Leaper. Rin then disappeared again and gained another lap ahead, only further irritating Ryuji. 

"You showoff!" Ryuji leapt in the air and tried to kick Rin. Rin was swift however, and caught Ryuji mid air by the ankle. He spun with Ryuji and threw him against the wall of the arena pit they were in. There was a large crack in the wall around Ryuji's size after he was thrown there. Rin stood and watched as he hit the wall then fell to the ground. Suddenly a large figure began to lurk over him. He looked to his right to see the Leaper making an attack. Rin turned and prepared to punch it.

"Woah!" Tsubaki pulled a lever and stopped the beast before it could attack. The Leaper managed to get forward only about a foot before being yanked back. After it was pulled back it seemed to calm down and just sit there. "You both are out of control!" He yelled down to the two students. He pulled another lever and was lifted down to the arena below. "There's no fighting allowed in True Cross Academny, and Rin, we do not punch the Leapers. They have at least a thousand pounds more than you." 

"Yes sensei." Rin responded the the same dull tone he did with Yukio. 

"Mr. Suguro, a word please." Tsubaki took Ryuji aside to have a talk with him. "Renzo, Konekomaru, you two are up next." He called to the students above. 

"Alright." Renzo replied coolly. He and Konekomaru both slid down the arena. They both approached Rin before he could head back up the ladder. "Sorry about him by the way. He just gets pretty passionate is all." Renzo apologized on their friend's behalf. 

"I noticed." Rin replied to them.

"Yeah, he's got a lot of ambition." Konekomaru added. "You see we're from the temple that was attacked during the Blue Night 16 years ago." 

"I see, so he's from that temple." 

"That's right." Renzo confirmed. "After the Blue Night though a lot of people stopped showing up to the temple. The local townspeople thought it was cursed. So Ryuji wants to beat up Satan and restore our temple to its former glory." 

"Is that right?" Rin asked. "I see what you mean by ambition." 

Farther away in the arena, Tsubaki was giving Ryuji a lecture. "Mr. Suguro, fighting is not acceptable in this academy and I will not tolerate it. Besides, someone like you shouldn't be getting involved in such affairs. You have a lot of potential and it'd be a waste to get kicked out over something like this."

"With all due respect sensei, why am I the only one getting a lecture?" Ryuji asked. "If there's a fight aren't both parties responsible? So why am I the only one getting a lecture?" Tsubaki frowned a little bit before giving an answer. 

"Well, Rin's sort of a special case. Apparently the Headmaster himself got him enrolled at True Cross. He's supposed to be some sort of prodigy too but with a bit of an attitude problem. I'm afraid there's nothing more I can really tell you than that." 

"Wait, so you know something about him?" Ryuji asked. 

"I do, but i'm afraid it's a personal matter. It's up to Rin whether or not he wants to share it with anyone." Tsubaki explained. Ryuji turned his head and glared at Rin. The more he learned the more he thought Rin was just some spoiled brat who did whatever the hell he wanted. 

After Konekomaru and Renzo were finished Izumo and Shiemi were the next in the arena. Izumo was managing to keep a few feet ahead of Shiemi, who was struggling to keep ahead of the Leaper. "Miss Moriyama, why aren't you in gym clothes like everyone else?" _Except for Rin of course._ Tsubaki thought to himself, noticing that Rin was still dressed in his street clothes and leather jacket. 

"Umm, I don't really own anything else." She explained as she continued to run. 

"That outfit was fashionable a hundred years ago, but not anymore." After about 30 seconds more Shiemi tripped and fell. The Leaper tried to make an attack but was pulled back by Tsubaki again. "Honestly, how many times are you going to trip?"

"Umm, i'm sorry." She apologized, getting back up to her feet. She and Izumo both headed to the ladder to let the next two in. When Shiemi was about to climb up she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

"Mind if I go up ahead of you? Thanks." Izumo asked but still basically pushed forward to go up first." Shiemi didn't mind though and let the other girl go up first. She then followed behind. When Shiemi reached the top a phone rang out. 

"Who's phone is that?!" Ryuji demanded. 

"Hello?" Tsubaki answered his phone. 

"Gah!" Ryuji made a noise of irritation.

"Now? I'm in the middle of teaching class." Tsubaki spoke into the phone. "My, you are insatiable. Fine, i'll be right there kitten." Tsubaki hung up his phone. "Class, I need to go run and errand for a bit. No one is to enter the arena until I get back or else." He informed the students. "I'm coming kitten!" Tsubaki took off full speed down the raised walkway to the exit. 

"Did the teacher just call someone kitten?" Renzo asked as he could hardly believe it.

"Our teacher just left for a booty call, is that even allowed?" Izumo was just as surprised. Ryuji looked over to the wall behind him and glared at Rin, who was leaning agaisnt it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. 

"You lucked out to today you know that." He told Rin.

"What are you on about now?" Rin opened his eyes as he addressed Ryuji. 

"The teacher told me about the Headmaster letting you into the academy. You're just some spoiled rich kid who got in here cause he was good at it. Well i'll have you know I learn this stuff just as easy and i'm not gonna let someone like you beat me!" Ryuji declared. 

"A spoiled rich kid? Is that what you think?" Rin asked. "Allow me to give you a reality check. I grew up homeless on the streets, I never graduated Junior High, and at first I couldn't even wield a sword properly." Ryuji looked a little surprised but still kept his anger. "I didn't get here because i'm a natural like you. I got here because I worked my ass off to obtain a goal. I got accepted because I worked hard on it. So next time you go making accusations I suggest you get you facts straight first." 

"What, so you think you can just act bigger than everyone because you worked really hard to get here?" Ryuji shouted back.

"You must really love eating wall don't you?" Rin asked coldly.

"Just know that we're all working our asses off just like you did. Everyone has a place here and you don't need to act so superior!" Shiemi suddenly looked up at Ryuji in surprise but kept quiet. 

"Is this coming from Mr. big shot ambition?" Rin asked. Ryuji was caught off guard by that one.

"What, you told him about that?!" He scolded at his friends. 

"Oh please, I heard it up here too." Izumo commented. "Going to beat up Satan, ha!" How foolish." She scoffed. 

"Oh, yeah and who the hell are you to say?" Ryuji demanded. 

"She's right." Rin commented. 

"See, even the emo kid agrees with me." Rin shot Izumo a glare.

"You guys... THINK YOU CAN JUST MAKE FUN OF MY AMBITION LIKE THAT?!" Ryuji demanded. 

"Don't get me wrong." Rin cut in. "It's not your ambition I was talking about. Your friends were right that you do have a lot of it, more so that most other people. If you really want to beat up Satan, i'm sure you could do it." Ryuji was now confused. 

"Wha... what the hell man, are you trying to argue or encourage me? Why'd you say it was foolish back there?" He asked. 

"Because what will it accomplish?" Rin answered him with a question. "At the end of the day what good will it do? It won't bring back the monks he killed, it won't stop Satan from doing it again. IF anything it'll give him motive to just do the same thing all over again. There will be a second Blue Night and everyone will die again when Satan tries to possess them. You'll just be beating him up like a school child facing a playground bully. But it will only bring about more retaliation. Beating up Satan will get nothing done." Ryuji was speechless after Rin's speech. He had no idea how to respond to that and had to think for a moment. 

"Umm..." Shiemi suddenly spoke up and raised her hand, causing all attention to go to her. "Excuse me for not knowing, but why did people die when Satan tried to possess people?" 

"Seriously, you don't know?" Ryuji asked confused. Shiemi shook her head. "It's because Satan in the most powerful Demon there is, the Lord of Demons. His power is to great for any human being to contain, so if he tries to possess you then you won't last more than a few minutes at best. Most die instantly." Ryuji explained. 

"R-really?" Shiemi asked fearfully. 

"Yes." Rin told her. "It's because of his massive power. Because of it he can't even fully materialize in the realm of Assiah. He has to remain locked away in Gehenna and can only come to this word as a fraction of his energy to try and control people."

"So, he has to stay in the other realm then?" Shiemi asked. 

"Yes, as I aid he can not take full form in this realm. If he ever did, killing a bunch of monks would be nothing compared to what he could do." Rin spoke that last bit coldly. Shiemi and Paku were both starting to look a little fearful and shake a bit. 

"Oh relax Paku, he's just trying to scare you." Izumo told her friend. 

"R-really?" She asked, still a bit nervous. "So he can't enter our realm?" She looked up to Rin who now squinted his eyes as he stared off. 

"It's not impossible for him to find a way." Rin told her. 

"That's enough!" Ryuji stopped him. "IF you think you're so smart and talented prove it!"

"How?" Rin asked. Ryuji pointed down at the Leaper. 

"We both have to go down there, touch the Leaper and make it back without getting injured. But if you look that Leaper in the eye it's all over. It'll read your emotions and whatever it can find, sadness, anger, it'll use it against you. Then it'll pick that moment to attack." Everyone but Rin looked surprised. 

"What, Bon you can't be serious?" Konekomaru pleaded. "That thing will kill you, and besides teacher said not to enter the arena until he got back."

"I don't care what Ol' Sideburns says." Ryuji told him. "Are you in or not?" Rin stared at Ryuji.

"Are you an idiot?" He asked. "If someone like you enters that arena you'll be as good as dead. As far as i'm concerned it won't be ambition you have, it'll be a death wish." Ryuji just grinned back at him confidently.

"Oh yeah, we'll see about that." He turned to enter the arena. 

No Bon, please don't do it." Renzo tried to get him to stop. 

Out of my way." He pushed renzo aside. "Huh?" He went to move forward but saw something now in front of him. Rin was now standing beside him, and holding out his sheathed Ginkaze. He was gripping it by the path of the scabbard closes to the handle of the sword while the other end extended out towards Ryuji. 

"If you're going to be stupid at least take this." Rin told him. Ryuji was a little surprised that someone so cold was offering help like that, but he would no accept. He snatched the sword from Rin's hand and yelled at him. 

"I don't need your damn help you- huh..." He suddenly began to lift the sword up and down like a weight. "Woah, is this really the same sword you used to cut up that Hobgoblin?" 

"Of course it is, what use would I have carrying around a toy?" Rin responded.

"What is it?" Konekomaru asked.

"Hold this." Ryuji handed him the sword. Konekomaru grabbed another part of the sheath and began to lift it too. 

"Woah, it's so light. I can hardly believe it's real." He commented aloud. He then handed the sword back to Rin who took it and put it back on his side. 

"That's why it's named Ginkaze. It's supposed to be light like air and strike fast." Rin told them. 

"Whatever, i'm going in." Ryuji slid down the side of the arena. 

"No wait!" Konekomaru called out. Ryjui didn't listen and approached the Leaper. He glared at it as he made his approach. 

"Is he trying to get killed?" Izumo asked. Ryuji got closer and closer to the Leaper. He was only a couple meters away now. His mind ran full of thoughts of his father, of his temple, and of his ambition. The Leaper sensed his emotions running rampant and entered the boy's mind. 

_Your weak._ Ryuji heard a voice in his mind say. 

"No." He told it aloud. 

"Uh oh, this isn't good." Konekomaru caught on quickly. 

_Just give up,, how could a boy like you ever hope to defeat Satan?_  

"Just shut the hell up!" Ryuji shouted. When his anger took over, the Leaper attacked. AS its named implied, it jumped into the air and went straight for him. Ryuji was caught off guard by it's mental attack and was frozen for just a moment too late. He thought he as going to die as the rest of the class watched with horror. He was about to close his eyes when the Leaper stopped a foot from his face. "Huh?" The Leaper suddenly began to move straight up. Ryuji looked to see Rin under it lifting the whole creature up. The Leaper began to fidget as it realized it was no longer moving on its own free will. Rin threw the demon away from the other student. The frog flew through the air and landed on its back on the other side of the arena. It lay there defeated and did not get back up. Everyone just stared in awe as Rin stood there. 

"I never took you to be so stupid." Rin told Ryuji as he faced away. 

"What?" Rin then turned his head to look at Ryuji over his shoulder.

"You have ambition, you have a dream. Why would you throw it away on something as meaningless and pointless as this? True ambition is doing what it takes to see your dream come true, not running into danger like an idiot. Think next time." After he lectured Ryuji he began to head for the ladder. 

"That guy... sure is strong." Konekomaru noted. 

"Yeah, i'll say." Renzo agreed. Unbeknownst to them, a figure was watching the whole time from the dark where Tsubaki had exited. There was a single pistol aimed at the arena and the safety clicked back on. Yukio lowered his gun and spoke into a communication piece in his ear. 

"The situation had been dealt with, Rin took care of it without using his powers." Yuiko reported in. 

"Excellent, I expect a short report from you when you return. Auf Widersehen." Mephisto responded from the other end. Yukio watched his brother rejoin the other students and go back to waiting for their teacher to return.

"Rin, just how powerful are you?" Yukio asked himself.


	4. The Exwire Exams

"I have an announcement for everyone today." Yukio told the class of exorcists-in-training. "Starting this week you will all be going through the process to becoming exwires, the next rank on your way to becoming certified exorcists." He grabbed a stack of papers off his desk. "I have here forms for you to fill out for your exwire training. They include what choice of meister you will be so think about it before you put anything down." Yukio began handing out the sheets. When he got to his brother Rin began filling it out right away. He had already decided what his choice would be. After Yukio handed out all the forums he walked towards the front. "Now there's something I have to go get for today's class. You all just wait here, i'll be right back." Yukio departed the classroom and left the students there. 

"Umm, hey Rin..." Shiemi called to the boy next to her. "What's a meister?" 

"Huh? You don't know what a meister is?" Konekomaru shouted as he overheard their conversation. Shiemi looked over to him and shook her head. 

"A meister is what choice of class you'll be in battle." Rin answered. "There's Knight, Dragoon, Aria, Tamer, and Doctor. You have to pick at least one of these, but you can mix them if you so choose. I'm going for Knight and Tamer." 

"Really? Well... what do you think I should be?" She asked. 

"Why are you asking me?" 

"Well... you're really smart, and I trust that you wouldn't tell me the wrong answer because that's just not the kind of person you are." She told him with a smile. Rin glanced over to her for a moment, unsure of how to answer her.

"Given your knowledge of herbology and medicine i'd suggest pairing a doctor up with one of the others." He answered as he looked back down at his own paper. "As for what you choose there I can't say. Knights use melee weapons in combat, given your weaker stature I wouldn't suggest that. You might want to try what Yukio is and combine it with Dragoon. They use firearms in combat. An Aria recites what's known as a fatal verse, so they require good memory. A Tamer summons a familiar to aid  them in combat. However being a Tamer comes with skill, not everyone can do it." 

"Wow." Shiemi stated in amazement with his knowledge. "Well then maybe i'll do Dragoon or Aria. How do you know what a demon's fatal verse is?"

"By sheer memory." Ryuji answered aloud. "As an Aria you have to have pretty much the whole Bible memorized. You have to be able to recite any verse at any time. I'm going for Aria myself, so I should know. I'm gonna be an Aria and Dragoon." 

"Wow, that's really cool Bon." Shiemi smiled when he told her that. 

"Heh, thanks." He leaned back in his chair with a confident smirk.

"Looks like you and your boyfriend are getting along finally, he hasn't said one thing to you yet." Izumo commented from the front of the room. She was met by an angry glare from Ryuji and a glance from Rin. "What, nothing smart to say?" 

"No." Rin answered, going back to his forum once more. "Aria's do have the disadvantage of being a target when reciting verses and usually have to rely on their team to back them up. Combining that with Dragoon covers defense while reciting rounds it out." Izumo frowned at him, upset at his cold attitude but said nothing further. Meanwhile Shiemi was formulating a plan in her to start being more outgoing and making friends.

* * *

Later in the day, they were all gathered with Professor Igor Neuhaus in another classroom. They were there to undergo a Tamer aptitude test. Each student would be given a pre-drawn summoning circle and would attempt to summon a familiar. This would help to find who in the class would make for the best summoners. "Alright, welcome everyone to your Tamer aptitude test." Professor Neuhaus greeted them. "As you all know becoming a Tamer isn't something just anyone can do. For most you're either a tamer or you're not. So this test will find out who has it." He started going around and handing out the small slips of summoning circles. "In order to summon a familiar you must first make a blood offering. Place a drop of your blood on the circle. After that chant whatever comes to mind." Ryuji put his thumb to his front right incisor and cut himself, his two friends followed suit. Rin pulled out his Ginkaze just a bit and used the revealed blade to cut his index finger. Shiemi and Paku used a more subtle approach, using a saftey pi nto prick themselves. Shiemi remembered she had one too and did the same. After all the students made their blood offering the Professor stood back and watched. 

"Alright. Demon, I summon thee!" Ryuji shouted out. He waited a few seconds but nothing happened. 

"Uhh, I can't think of anything." Renzo stated as his mind was blank. 

"Don't think, a good Tamer doesn't need to think about it. It just comes naturally." The Professor explained. 

"Come to me and sing your lullaby deathsinger." Rin chanted. With a sudden poof he summoned the first familiar. It looked like an eyeless corpse of a woman's upper torso. They skin was grey and sunken in, its eyes just two black holes. It had a piece of grey cloth draped over it as it floated in the air. 

"A banshee, they have some pretty strong sonic attacks. Good job Rin." The Professor complimented him. 

"Thank you sensei." Rin replied. 

"Woah, looks like he did it." Konekomaru admired. 

"I humbly appeal to thee Godess Inari. Hear my wishes, let none be unfilled." Izumo chanted. There were two smaller poofs as two white fox spirits appeared at her feet. 

"White foxes, looks like we have another Tamer candidate." Professor Neuhaus noted. 

"Umm, I call you to come help me please." Shiemi tried to summon a demon but sounder weak. Still there was a tiny poof of smoke and a tiny greenman formed on top of her summoning paper.

"Nee!" It cried out cheerfully. 

"Aww, it's cute!" Shiemi smiled at it. 

"Looks like a Greenman, though it's only a baby one." Igor told her. "Looks like we have our candidates for Tamers."

"Hmph, upset you didn't do better than everyone emo kid?" Izumo asked Rin. He shot her another glance like he did earlier. 

"Don't let your ego get ahead of you, it won't do you any good in the field." Igor told his student. "Besides, in terms of who did summon the most powerful demon Rin definitely won." Izumo scowled as she was told Rin once more excelled. 

"Pfft, beginner's luck." She brushed it off. 

"It is not!" Shiemi stomped her foot. Everyone looked at her in surprise of her sudden burst of energy. "I'll have you know i've seen Rin summon a demon before. In fact he can summon 10 different demons." Shiemi held her her hands and all ten fingers. 

"Ten different familiars, is this true Rin?" Professor Neuhaus asked in surprise. Rin nodded. 

"I can only summon two at a time in order to remain in control, but there are ten different ones I can summon." He answered. 

"Being able to summon two or more is a rare feat, but ten? That's incredible, care to show me?" The Professor handed his student another piece of paper. Rin took it and made another blood offering. 

"I call upon the gates of Gehenna, send me your assistance." Rin chanted. There was a brief outward gust of wind above Rin followed by a second familiar. This one took the shape of a yellow bird. It was larger however, about a meter in length and stood just under Rin's waist. 

"Piyoo!" It cried out.

"A Harpy, pretty swift little demons. Excellent job Rin, you have the abilities to become a top rank Tamer." Professor Neuhaus told him. "As for the rest of you know that summoning a familiar is not for the weak of heart. If the demon sense any falter in you then it will not hesitate to attack. Which is why Rin can only summon two of his familiars at a time. If you ever feel like you are in danger simply break the circle and the familiar will be released." Izumo did so by tearing her sheet of paper in half. The foxes suddenly vanished. Rin did the same and dispelled his familiars. Nee looked down at the summoning circle in Shiemi's hands. 

"Don't worry Nee, I won't get send you away." Shiemi told him.

"Nee!" He cheered happily. 

Class was dismissed not long after that and the students all went their separate ways. Izumo was walking to her next class with Paku as usual. The two were best of friends and had all of their classes the same, so they often walked to class together. Sheimi would be in their next class too so she deicded to make her move. "Miss Kamiki!" She called up to her classmate ahead of her.

"Just ignore her." Izumo told her friend quietly so that they would not be heard. They two of them kept walking while Shiemi struggled to keep up.

"Miss Kamiki, wait up! Miss Kamiki!" Shiemi kept trying to get their attention. After a few moments Izumo gave in with a sigh. She stopped and turned around.

"What do you want?" She asked in an irate tone of voice. 

"Umm, well I just wondering... would you like to be friends Miss Kamiki?" Shiemi asked her. There was brief look of surprise over her face as well as Paku, who had decided to remain quiet on the matter. 

"Alright." Izumo answered. 

"Really?" Shiemi's eyes lit up.

"Yup. But friends do things for each another. So here, carry my bag." Izumo gave Shiemi her bag to carry around for her.

"Umm... alright." Shiemi agreed. She followed her two new 'friends' to class as she carried Izumo's bag. Unknown to them, the whole scene was overseen by a silent Rin.

The students last class in the Cram School that day was with Yukio once more, and at the end of class he had an announcement for them. "I have some news for you all." He announced aloud. "Since you are beginning the training camp to become Exwires, you will not be sleeping at your usual dorms. Instead for the duration of this training you will all be staying with Rin and I at the old male dorm that's no longer in use." The students all looked shocked, save for Rin of course, and some began talking among one another. 

"Hold up, you're telling us that we all have to live together until we become Exwires?" Ryuji demanded. 

"That's right." Yukio answered calmly. "You will all be living in the unused male dorm as I just said. I assure you that the facility is clean and suitable for living. So tonight I want you to gather your things from your dorm at meet together in the dorm at 6. I'll be waiting. Class dismissed." 

After class, Yukio and Rin headed to their dorm while the rest of the students were walking to their dorms to gather their things. "Man, what a bummer." Ryjui commented. "Can't believe we have to live together, and with Rin too no less. I be that'll be fun." 

"What's up with Professor Okumara and Rin bunking together anyway?" Konekomaru asked. "They don't exactly act like their related, but they bunk together and they both share the same surname." 

"I asked Rin if they were brothers once." Shiemi told them. She was again carrying Izumo's things. 

"Really? Did he say anything?" Konekomaru asked her.

"He just said they were." She replied. 

"What? Man, that dude is pretty cryptic." Ryuji remarked. "Wonder if any of the other Professors at the cram school know anything." 

"Why don't we go ask?" Konekomaru asked himself. He then pointed up ahead, where they saw Professor Neuhaus sitting at a bench and reading a book. The group of students approached him. 

"Hmm, can I help you students?" Igor asked them when they came up to him.

"Her Professor, do you know what's up between Rin and Professor Okumara?" Ryuji asked him. "They're both named Okumara and they apparently bunk together, are they related or something?" Professor Neuhaus stared at the students for a moment before giving them a sigh. 

"Alright i'll tell you, but if I do you have to keep quiet about it around Rin and Yukio, understand?" They all nodded silently. Ryuji, Konekomaru, Shiemi, Izumo, Renzo, Paku, and Yamada all listened closely. "Rin and Yukio are brothers, at least by blood they are. They grew up in a monastery with their adoptive father until they were 10. Satan attacked their monastery too one night when Yukio was away but Rin was there. They had a falling out about it and Yukio pulled a gun on Rin. He told him that they were no longer brothers, and not to come home or else he'd shoot him." There was a unanimous gasp of shock from the group of students. "After that they went their separate ways. Yukio continued on his training to becoming an exorcist and Rin disappeared. No one was able to find him for years, then one day he showed up and wanted to be put in the cram school. The first day of class was the first they had seen each other in five years."

"So that's why he acted weird when Rin came through the door." Renzo realized. 

"Yes, i'm sure. I'm also sure Yukio must have been even more surprised by Rin's change in attitude. From what he told me, back then Rin was much more headstrong and outgoing. He's still kept the same level of determination, but beyond that he's changed entirely. I have no doubt he acts the way he does from years of living on the streets alone. That must have taken quite a toll on him." 

"So then, does Rin hate the Professor's guts?" Izumo asked. 

"Who's to say, with that boy you can enver tell what he's feeling. Assuming he even has feelings anymore. I'm sure he must have some level of resentment though." Professor Neuhaus told her.

"Then who the hell's idea was it for them to live together?" Ryuji asked.

"Yukio's. Igor replied. "He's since matured and realized what he did. He wants to make it up to Rin and has been trying to ever since Rin suddenly appeared that day. However, Rin's been less that receptive of the idea." 

"So, Yukio feels bad and wants to be close to Rin again but... Rin won't accept him will he?" Shiemi asked. 

"Perhaps, or perhaps something will happen. Who's to say?" Professor Neuhaus answered before standing up. "Now, as I recall you all are to report to the old dorm at 6. Don't be late." He then walked away in the direction the students had just come. They all were still trying to process what had just been told to them. One thing was sure, they would never see Rin or Yukio the same way ever again.

* * *

Later that night, they were all gathered at one of the tables in the old cafeteria within the dorm. It was to be their first night with everyone staying at the dorm Yukio and Rin shared. "Alright, I want to welcome everyone to your first night of Exwire Training Camp." Yukio greeted them. "While you are here the girls may use any room in the West wing, while the boys will be staying in the East wing. You will still be atending your regular classes during your stay. I'd also like to inform you that in one week we will be going on a camping trip into the woods by the Academy. There are many low level demons kept there in order to train Pages and help them become Exwires." 

"Is that safe?" Renzo asked, sounding a bit fearful. 

"Yes, we've been doing it for years and I assure you it's totally safe." Yukio replied. "The demons in there are mostly low leveled. Sometimes a more powerful demon gets in, in which case we are able to locate it rather quickly and send in stronger exorcists to take care of it." 

"Sensei, then are you telling us it's possible to locate and track a demon?" Konekomaru asked. 

"Yes, it is." Yukio replied with a smile. "Does anyone know why?"

"You're using the domesticated demons to help you." Rin spoke up. "Demons can sense one another's presence, so the weaker domesticated demons are able to sense a more powerful one and inform their masters." 

"Very good Rin, that's exactly right." Yukio praised him. "Now, before I let you go are there any further questions?" Izumo raised her hand. 

"Sensei, where are the showers in the West wing?" She asked. 

"This floor, take a right at the end of the main hall." He told her.

"Thank you, let's go Paku." Izumo called her friend to come with. 

"Oh, I think I need to bathe too." Shiemi stood up and followed the other two girls to the locker room. Renzo smiled and started to blush.

"Heh, three girls taking a bath. I wonder if we should go spy on them." He commented. 

"What? No way!" Ryuji replied, turning his head.

"Aww come on, aren't you even a little interested?" Renzo insisted. "I'm sure one of you guys must be."

"No, and I find your treatment of women deplorable." Rin told him. 

"Aww, come on Rin. You always seems so tense. What about you sensei?"

Yukio adjusted his glasses. "I do not concern myself with such affairs, and don't let me catch you doing so." He told his student threateningly. This made Renzo feel intimidated and his demeanor quickly changed. "You should be more mature, like Rin here." Yukio turned his head to where Rin was sitting, but now they found it empty. 

"Hey, where'd Rin go? Ryuji asked as they all looked around the room, but there was no sign of Rin. Yamada shrugged.

"You don't think he was lying do you?" Renzo asked.

"Nah, he's probably just off being cryptic somewhere else." Ryuji replied.

Meanwhile, in the West wing, Izumo stopped just outside of the door to the locker room. She turned to Shiemi. "Would you mind waiting out here?" 

"Umm, but weren't we gonna all take a bath?" Shiemi asked nervously. 

"I'm self-conscious and don't want you to see me naked. If you're my friend you'll understand." Izumo told her in a cold manner that was something akin to Rin's attitude. 

"Ok." Shiemi answered weakly. Izumo and Paku both entered the room while Shiemi stood outside with her head hung low. Once they got inside Paku decided to question Izumo.

"Hey Izumo, why are you treating Shiemi like that?" She asked. 

"Hmm?" Izumo turned her head to Paku.

"You tell her you're her friend but you make her carry all your things and you don't treat her like a friend." Paku told her.

"So what?" Izumo replied coldly as she started unbuttoning the top of her uniform. "She just acts all cute in innocent but she doesn't belong here. Besides, you're the only friend I need Paku."

"Umm... about that." Paku tapped her fingers together nervously. "I'm thinking about quitting the cram school."

"What?!" Izumo asked with shock just after she hung her shirt up in the locker. "Why?!" 

"Well, i've been struggling with my classes lately and I don't think I belong here either. I only joined the cram school because you wanted to." Paku answered. 

"Look, if it's the school work then i'll help you out with it ok?" Izumo told her. "Just don't give up on me so easily." Paku noted that Izumo said 'me'. Izumo was afraid of being along again, and Paku knew it. But she also knew that the other students were good people, even Rin despite his jaded demeanor. Izumo then turned back to her locked and noticed a paid of feet dangling in front of her. She looked up to see they were Rin's. He was sitting atop the lockers with his usual bored look on his face. "WAAHH!" Izumo cried out and tried to cover herself. "What the hell do you think you're doing you pervert?!" She demanded.

"This is still my residence, so I may go wherever I wish. Besides, I have no concerns in such matters." He jumped down and landed in front of the two girls. "I'm just here to pass along a message." 

"What message?" Izumo asked. She was starting to sound rather irate. 

"You have two choices. Either tell Miss Moriyama that you've been lying to her this whole time and leave her alone, or make good on your word and actually start treating her like a friend." He ordered. 

"What is she, your girlfriend or something?" Izumo asked angrily. Rin shot her another glance of his. 

"No, but how you're treating her is cruel, and I have a strong belief that evil should be punished. So i'm giving you a choice. Leave her alone or make nice." He told her dully. 

"And if I refuse?" Rin stared at her silently for a moment. 

"You know that other day when I threw the Leaper... I was still holding back some of my strength." He took a step closer and got in her face. "So would you like to see what it's like when i'm not holding anything back?" He told her ominously. Izumo suddenly looked afraid, and even PAku behind her was starting to feel a bit threatened. Izumo took a step back from him out of caution. Then something fell from the ceiling in between them. The three of them looked up to see a Naberius, a powerful ghoul type demon on the ceiling. It growled down at them. Izumo and Paku were both terrified now. "Allow me to give you a demonstration." 

There was a scream from the girl's locker room that could be heard throughout the floor. "What was that?" Ryuji asked in surprise. 

"It sounded like it came from the girl's locker room!" Yukio shouted as he shot up and ran for it. The four boys all followed behind him. When he turned the corner Yukio drew one of his guns. He saw Shiemi standing outside and looking worried. "Shiemi, what's going on?" He asked her sternly.

"I don't know. Miss Kamiki didn't want me to go in with them and told me to wait out here. Then I just suddenly heard screaming." She responded frantically. Yukio gritted his teeth and went for the door. He kicked it in and went it aiming his pistol. 

"Izumo, Paku, are you two al-" Yukio stopped when he saw Rin land feet first on the wall right next to him. Yukio looked surprised only for a brief moment before Rin kicked off and launched himself at the demon once more. Rin slashed through its lower torso and landed on the ground near it, sliding a bit when he made contact with the ground. The demon howled in pain and turned around swinging. It tried to punch Rin but he was far too quick. He jumped up above it's swing and landed on the shouldes on each side of a head. The two heads, once faceless on not looked up. Rin brought his sword straight down between the two heads. The ghoul howled in pain once more and tried to grab Rin. He retracted his sword and flipped off the demon, landing behind it. He spun around and slashed its back with his sword. The Naberius stumbled forward a bit. Rin stared at it and noticed the wounds were slowly starting close. 

I... I have to help, I have to do something. Izumo thought to herself. She pulled out two pre-drawn summoning circles. She cut her thumb on her mouth and made a blood offering. "I humbly appeal to thee Godess Inari. Hear my wishes, let none be unfilled." She chanted. Two white foxes materialized in front of her. "Help him!" She ordered. 

"You'd dare to command us?" The one fox shot back as it turend its head at her. 

"You are too weak." The other told her. Izumo felt a pang of fear go through her. The foxes turned around to attack her instead. In a swift flash Rin was suddenly next to her and had cut the pieces of paper in half. The two foxes stared in shock of his speed before vanishing. 

"Let me show you how it's done." Rin told her. He pulled out his small notepad and quickly began to scribble. When he was done he cut his thumb with Ginkaze and made the offering. "From blood of crimson red, I hereby summon you back from the dead." There was a circular gust of wind and sudden a man with white sunken skin dressed in samurai armor was standing in the room with them. 

"Hmm, is this a modern bath house?" He looked around the locker room. 

"Woah, that's Tetsunochi Gunba!" Konekomaru noticed and informed the others. 

"No way." Ryuji said in disbelief. 

"Eyes forward." Rin instructed him. 

"Hm?" The familiar looked forward to the naberius. "Oh, so it's going to be a real fight this time." He drew his own sword. 

"Let's go, team attack." Rin and Tetsunochi both spun around and went for the ghoul.

" **Demon Whirlwind!** " They both shouted as they attacked. The two men landed on the wall behind the Naberius. They both kicked off like Rin did before and once more preformed the Demon Whirlwind. They landed on opposite walls and kicked off, preforming the same maneuver. They both kept at it in a flurry of spins and launching off the walls. They could only briefly been seen for a split second before they launched off and spun around as they attacked. The twister like shapes shot back and forth and up and down as they attacked the demon together. 

"Man, they're really tearing that thing up." Renzo commented in disbelief. 

"I'll say, holy crap." Ryuji replied in just as much shock. After a few moments of team attacking the two then preformed one final attack, lunging in from each side and turning at the end so they landed up where they started but facing the opposite direction. The ghoul let out once last howl before exploding into black particles that fell to the ground. 

"Whew, that was fun." Tetsunochi commented after it was over. Rin sheathed his sword once more. 

"Your services are no longer required." Rin then grabbed the sheet he wrote on and tore it. Tetsunochi faded out and disappeared in the same manner the two foxes had. The students were all just staring at Rin.

"Wow, Rin that was amazing!" Shiemi complimented him. 

Yes, excellent job Rin. But just what were you doing in here?" Yukio asked suspiciously. 

"Just passing along a message." Rin answered. Yukio eyed him suspiciously. Izumo was sitting on the ground and shaking with fear.

"Izumo..." Paku put a hand on her shoulder. 

"It's late, everyone should get to bed. I'll reinforce the barrier around this place tonight." Yukio told his students. Izumo nodded, still looking terrified. Paku helped her friend get back to her friend and led her to one of the rooms. The others all left without a word, but when Rin passed by Yukio held out his arm to stop him. Rin stopped in his tracks and looked over to him. Yuiko waited for the students to leave before having a word with Rin. "Rin, when you said earlier about being able to sense demon, can you do that too?" He asked. 

"Yes, but that wasn't why I was here." Rin replied. 

"What?" 

"As I said, I was simply passing along a message." Rin told him once more.

"So, then did you know the naberius was here or not?" Yukio asked. 

"No. While I can sense demonic energy there is a loophole. I can't sense it if someone summoned it. The demonic presence is masked by the summoner's will and I can not sense the creature." Yukio looked alarmed. 

"So then... you're saying someone summoned that creature here?" Yukio asked in disbelief.

"That's what it would seem." Rin answered. He then headed past Yukio who just stood there as the gears in his head began to turn. He didn't want to accept it but he knew who did this.

* * *

**The next day...**

Professor Neuhaus was walking down one of the halls of True Cross Academy. It was late in the afternoon and the students had all returned home by now. However when he entered the next corridor he found Yukio leaning against the wall. He was dressed in his exorcist gear for some reason too. Professor Neuhaus was thrown off by this at first but kept heading onward. "Hello Professor Neuhaus." Yukio greeted him.

"Professor Okumara, what are you doing here so late?" Igor asked. 

"Why did you do it?" Yukio asked. "Why did you send that demon after Rin?" Igor scowled at him.

"If you must know I was under orders from the Director himself." He informed. "He wanted me to try to get Rin to draw his kurikara to reveal his true power." Yukio stared at him in disbelief. 

"The Director ordered that?" Yukio repeated.

"That's right. He wants to know the full extent of Rin's power and asked me to assist him." Igor began walking past the stunned Yukio. "If I were you i'd suggest you don't interfere." He told his colleague before he left. Yukio stood there and thought. He knew the Director was out at this time and couldn't be reached. He knew he'd have to wait to see him. Most of his students were going out to a restaurant tonight too. Rin would be alone if Igor tried to make another move. He knew Rin could clearly take care of himself based on his skills so he decided to wait. 

He arrived to the door to the Director's office later that night. He knocked twice. "Come in!" Mephisto called from inside. Yukio opened one of the double doors and entered. Mephisto was smiling at him. "Ah, Professor Okumara. Why I just saw you here a few days ago. What brings you back?" 

"Excuse my sudden intrusion but there's something I had to ask you." Yukio began as he took a seat across from him. 

"Oh, shoot." Mephisto replied. 

"Why did you send Professor Neuhaus after Rin?" 

"Pardon?" Mephisto tilted his head. 

"Professor Neuhaus, I found out he was under your order to attempt to get Rin to draw his kurikara sword to reveal his demonic powers." Mephisto just stared at him in confusion. "I want to know why, and why Professor Neuhaus. He lost his wife to Satan, I would think he'd be the most unstable for the task." Mephisto stared blankly. 

"I'm sorry Mr. Okumara, but I truly have no idea what you are talking about. I gave no such order to Professor Neuhaus. You must be mistaken." Mephisto told him. Yukio stared at him for a second, then it hit him. It was a lie. Professor Neuhaus was pursuing revenge. Yukio shot up from his seat.

"I have to get to Rin!" Yukio headed for the door.

"Oh, it would seem Rin's in trouble isn't her?" Mephisto chimmed. 

"Rin's not the one i'm worried about." Yukio remarked before exiting the office and closing the door behind him. Mephisto smiled to himself. 

"My, things are starting to get interesting. I think I should give a call to an old friend." 

* * *

Rin was sitting on the roof of the old dormitory with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was alone for part of the night until the others returned. He knew Yukio was not with them, but did not care as to where he was. Yukio could be dead for all he cared. Yukio treated him the same anyway. He didn't care if he was alone, he was always alone. Now he was just meditating alone on the roof in the night. The door opened behind him and Rin opened his eyes. "You're here." Rin greeted him coldly. Igor Neuhaus stepped forward. 

"You knew I was coming?" He asked. 

"I figured it out as soon as Yukio had. Being a Tamer is rare, and you're the only Tamer on campus with the skill to summon a demon of that level." Rin asnwered. He then stood up and faced his opponent. "So, what's this about?"

"Revenge." Igor told him. "Satan killed my wife, now i'm going repay the favor and kill his son." 

"You think he cares about me?" Rin asked dryly.

"Maybe not, but I can not forgive your kind for what happened to my wife. I will exterminate you demon!" Rin stared at him for a moment. He placed a hand on the hilt of Kurikara. 

"You want to see me draw this don't you?" He asked. "I bet you want to know what my full power is like." Igor smirked.

"Figured that out too did you?"

"Not much of a surprise, i'm sure the Headmaster would too, and Yukio wouldn't mind finding out either."

"Ah yes, your brother should be finishing his chat with the Headmaster soon."

Hmph." Rin drew Kurikara. Blue flmes surrounded him in an aura. "I have no brother." Igor pulled out a summoning circle drawn on a piece of paper from him his sleeve. He had already made the blood offering before hand too. 

"From a corpse in the ground, where not even vultures will gather around, arise!" He tossed the paper to the ground as it began to spark. "Now, meet the highest ranking naberius of my pawns." Suddenly a large monstrosity Began to form and come out from the paper. It was a disgusting fowl creature with a large gaping mouth on top of it and many arms all around. Rin stared up at the beast. It swung down at him and he began to run in a circle around it. He was too fast and it could not keep up. As he ran Rin pulled out his notebook and began drawing. He slit his thumb and made a blood offering.

"From a realm as cold as rain, come forth and teach my enemies pain." There was a cloud of smoke that shot out of the circle. From the smoke a large beat suddenly appeared. It was a red skinned beast with webbed feet, large bulging muscles, and two bull horns on either side of its face. Its eyes were fire red and glowed white its underbite jaw showed a row of razor sharp teeth. It roared at the naberius.

"An Ultor huh? That's a pretty impressive summon for someone your age." Igor commented. Rin didn't answered, instead waiting behind his familiar as it attacked. The swung its fist in the naberius. The Naberius cried out it and and tried to bring its massive maw to the ultor. The ultor fought back and tried to push it back. Rin held his freed hand up to the naberius with his palm outwards. A volley of fire bullets shot outward from his palm. They went outwards and way from one another before locking onto and tracking the naberius. It cried out in pain again the the fire bullets struck it. The ultor took advantage and forced the naberius to the ground. It got on top of it and began pounding away. Punching it again and again while it was pinned. It then brought both fists up above its head and slammed them down, finishing off the naberius. It was expelled back to Gehenna. Rin tore his paper and his familiar vanished as well. Now it was just the two of them once more. "Very good, but..." Igor rolled up his right sleeve to reveal many summoning circles tattooed on his arm. "I've come prepared. Each one of these is ready and already has a blood sacrifice made. So then-" He stopped talking when Rin rushed in quicker than he expected. he just had time to dodge the upwards strike made with Kurikara.

But he didn't see Rin draw his second sword. Rin held Ginkaze in his left hand and slashed upwards again. This time he connected and severed Igor's right arm. "GYAAAHHH!" He cried out in pain. The Professor fell to the ground and against the barrier edge of the roof. He was sitting upright against it when Rin approached with both swords drawn. Rin stared down at the defeated man. "Looks like you beat me." He manged to get out through the pain. "Now i suppose you're going to kill me, just like all you damn demons. It's the only thing you're good for." He began to breathe heavily as he was loosing blood. 

"Before you die, would you like to know why I joined True Cross Academy?" Rin asked him.

"Tch, why not? Enlighten me." Rin bent over and whispered in his ear. When he heard it, Igor suddenly looked very shocked.When Rin stood back up Igor looked up to him bewildered. His single eye was wide as could be and his jaw dropped. "You... you're insane." 

"That may be." Rin remarked. "But... you're a dead man." 

* * *

Yukio ran up the stairs of the old dorm as fast as he could. Up on the roof Professor Neuhaus was trying to kill his brother. Only it wouldn't be that simple. Yukio knew Rin would win. He was able to be that naberius without even using his demonic powers. He could no doubt win if he wasn't holding back. The other students being absent from the building made this the perfect opportunity. Yukio had to stop this, he couldn't let in continue. When he got to the door to the roof he turned the knob and charge it open in one swift motion. Whet he saw next he would never forget. Rin was standing over Professor Neuhaus, who was sitting on the ground bloodied and defeated. Neuhaus was missing and arm, and Rin was holding his sword through his head. It was in Igor's once good eye and penetrated out through the back of his head. Yukio could only stare in shock at the scene and realization that his brother had just killed someone. 

"You're late." Rin greeted Yukio. He pulled the sword out of Neuhaus' head. His head slumped forward and began to bleed onto himself. Rin placed Kurikara back and the blue flames disappeared. 

"Rin... you killed him." Yukio commented, unable to say anything more.

"I did what was necessary." Rin shot back dryly. 

"What was necessary?" Yukio sounded mad now. "Rin, you just killed a person! You killed a teacher!" 

"He was insistent on killing me and getting in my way. It's better this way." Yukio gritted his teeth. 

"Then at least tell me... how the hell could you just kill someone like that?" Rin stared at him blankly. 

"As I recall, you were the one who pointed a gun at me." Rin reminded him. "I should ask you the same." Rin walked away with that remark. Yukio didn't wish to say anything more in case of further straining his relationship with Rin. He stared solemnly at the dead body of Professor Neuhaus. He would have a hard time explaining this to the Director. 


	5. Forbidden Technique

The day after the Neuhaus incident, the students of True Cross were in the arena once more. There were a number of goblins in the arena that the students were to fight. It was their first day of any real combat training. Rin was going at them with a sword while Renzo was using a staff with a circle and rings at one end. Yamada was using his bare hands, and together they were protecting Ryuji and Konekomaru who were reciting verses from the Bible. Shiemi was was assisting as best as she could with Nee, but wasn't as good in combat. Izumo was standing by afraid to do anything. Paku was gone, she had made the decision to drop the cram school and only attend True Cross. Izumo was afraid to make a move as her familiars had turned on her. "Miss Kamiki, what on earth are you doing?" Tsubaki called down from the edge of the arena. He and Yukio were up above and watching the students closely during their first combat exercise. 

Yukio was unfocused however. The events of last night were still fresh in his mind. Rin had just killed someone, and Yukio saw it. The students had been told that Professor Neuhaus had to leave the academy for unknown reasons and would not be returning. Mephisto took the news better than Yukio had expected. He hardly even seemed saddened by Professor Neuhaus' death. He had the body removed and the roof clean up before the other students got back that night, leaving no trace of what had happened. Yukio noticed that Rin didn't even seem the least bit bothered by it. He wondered if Rin was just hiding it or if he really was that unfeeling. Either way the whole thing bothered Yukio and he could not focus. 

He didn't notice the group of five goblins going in for Izumo. She panicked and froze in fear. Rin jumped in the way and slashed them all up with ease. Each small goblin disappeared in a tiny poof of black smoke. "See Miss Kamiki, if you insist on just standing there you're just making yourself a target." Tsubaki scolded her. Izumo gritted her teeth.

"I didn't need you to save me again." She told Rin.

"Fine, save yourself next time." He jumped away and went to protect Ryuji from another cluster of goblins. 

"Miss Kamiki." Shiemi called to her politely. "I know you must be scared because your familiars turned on you the other day, but you can't let that fear control you. You have to believe in yourself." 

"Well, look at you with your new found confidence." Renzo praised her. Shiemi smiled at him in response. Her words only further irritated Izumo however.

"Don't tell me how to fight!" She shot back. She pulled out only one pre-drawn circle. Maybe if she only tried one it would work this time. "I humbly appeal to thee Goddess Inari. Hear my wishes, let none be unfilled." Nothing happened. "Hey, what the heck you stupid thing?!" She shouted in anger. "I humbly appeal to thee Goddess Inari. Hear my wishes, let none be unfilled!" She chanted a bit louder this time. Again nothing happened. "Come on you stupid thing work!" She began waving her warm up and down. "I'm summoning you, come forth!" This time something happened. The circle grew red and red lightning began spark out from it. The students and hobgoblins all turned to her as a red aura began to glow. The lightning began to shoot out more fiercely now and Izumo could only stare in shock and fear. Suddenly all the goblins looks terrified and took off in all different directions. Rin ran over and grabbed Izumo, making her let go of the paper and taking her away from it. It slowly fell to the ground, and when it made contact one very large bolt of red lightning shot out. There was suddenly a very large demon standing in the arena now. It was as tall as Astaroth and had white fur all over him. He looked human below the neck but his head was the head of a goat. He laughed evilly when he had materialized. 

"Free at last!" He cried out. The students all stared at him. The two teachers recognized him right away.

"Everyone, out of the arena now!" Yukio shouted below. The demon looked to his left to see Shiemi was standing closest to him. She was frozen in fear, and helpless when he went over and grabbed her by both wrists in one powerful hand.

"Aiyeeee!" Shiemi screamed in fear. The other students began to back up as Yukio and Tsubaki entered the arena. Yukio drew both of his guns, and Tsubaki pulled out from his coat a large revolver. They both aimed their guns at the demon. "Yuki, help!" Shiemi cried.

"What the hell's going on? Who is that guy?" Ryuji scrambled for answers.

"That's Gomorrah, The Defiler. Son of the Demon King Astaroth." Yukio answered, still keeping his aim on the demon. Gomorrah grinned evilly.

"Oh, i'm so honored you know who I am." He responded. 

"How did you manage get here Gomorrah?" Yukio questioned him. The demon prince chuckled. 

"It's a new trick i've been working on. Overriding the summons of a Tamer and hijacking the channel to enter Assiah. Looks like it worked." He informed them. He suddenly then felt something on his hand. He looked to see a tiny greenman trying to beat on his hand.

"Nee!" Nee shouted out. Gomorrah picked him up with his other hand and dropped Nee in his mouth. In one gulp he swallowed the tine greenman. 

"No, Nee!" Shiemi cried out. Gomorrah laughed evilly. He took a step to the left and the two teachers did the same, starting to circle one another. The students were all on their way up out of the arena.

"Now then, what shall I do with this one?" Gomorrah asked. 

"Let her go!" Yukio told him. 

"Oh ho, I don't think so." Gomorrah responded with a smile. He grabbed part of Shiemi's kimono with the other hand tore the top part of it open, revealing her white bra and cleavage underneath. "Ohh, what a nice rack on this one. I think i'll hand onto her for awhile." They continued to circle one another until they moved 90 degrees and now had their sides to where the students just were. "Besides, having a hostage is always nice. With this I can- HURK!" A large branch shot out of his stomach. The them dissolved into wood dust and left a hole in him. Nee jumped out and ran away. 

"Nee, you're alright!" Shiemi smiled cheerfully. 

"Nee!" He cried as he ran away in fear. He went over to Rin, who they now saw was the only student in the arena. Nee his behind one of Rin's legs as he stood there with his Ginkaze sword drawn.

"Grr, you little pest!" Gomorrah yelled in rage. The hole in his stomach began closing. "And just what do you think you're doing little Page?" Gomorrah asked Rin. Rin stared at him without answering. 

"Rin get out of here!" Yukio ordered him. "I know you're strong, but this is a Demon Prince, he's too strong for you to handle." Rin sheathed his sword. Yukio felt relieved that he was listening for once. 

"That's right, run away and hide behind those with power." Gomorrah taunted. Rin didn't leave the arena however. Instead he pulled out a pen he normally used to summon with. He began drawing something on the back of his right hand. "Hmm, what do you think you're doing?" The demon asked. Rin didn't say a word as he began to quickly draw. When he was done he showed it to the demon prince. It was am octagram, an eight pointed star inside of a circle. The inside of the star looked a bit intricate with the lines crossing one another. "Wait... is that." Purple flames suddenly encased Rin's right hand. The students all stared in awe, while the two teachers realized in horror just what was going on. 

"Woah, is that what I think it is?" Konekomaru asked in disbelief. 

Gomorrah dropped Shiemi. She landed on the ground with a small thud and an 'oof.' from her. "Now wait a minute here, let's not do anything rash." Gomorrah held up his hands as he tried to back off. "We can talk about this."

"No... we really can't." Rin replied. He rushed in full speed for Gomorrah, who suddenly looked terrified. 

"No, please don't!" He tried to beg. Rin was blindingly fast and upon him in seconds. Right before he could make contact there was a bang. Yukio fired one of his guns straight through the demon prince's head. It snapped the other direction and he began to fade into black dust. Rin passed through the dust with the momentum of his speed and stopped on the other side of where the demon once was. Yukio put his pistols back within his coat and walked over to Shiemi. 

"Are you alright Shiemi?" He asked, offering his hand down to help her up. Shiemi tried to cover herself with one hand and took Yukio's with the other. 

"I'm alright, my dress just got torn is all." She replied.

"Ta dah!" Mephisto suddenly jumped from above, doing a few flips in air before landing in the center of the arena. 

"Is that the Director?" Ryuji asked. 

"Oh, Mr. Faust, what are you doing here?" Tsubaki asked. 

"I was alerted about the presence of a rather powerful demon and brought in the Calvary." He answered. Suddenly the rest of the Exorcist teachers ran into the large room with their weapons drawn. "Now, where is this demon?" Mephisto looked around. 

"He has been dealt with sir." Tsubaki answered. "Which we're lucky we were able to do without any damage considering it was a Demon Prince."

"Oh, a Demon Prince managed to get it? Tell me, what exactly happened?"

"We were in the middle of the student's first combat training when Gomorrah suddenly appeared. It seems he's learned how to hijack a summon and appear when a Tamer is trying to summon their familiar. Which was the case when Miss Kamiki tried to summon her's." Tsubaki reported. "Thankfully Yukio was able to take it out with one clean shot to the head."

"Excellent work Professor Okumara!" Mephisto congratulated him. "So, I take it everything has been taken care of?"

"Well, not exactly..." Tsubaki replied a bit nervously. "There is still the matter of-"

"Rin Okumara!" Yukio shouted as Rin was making his way to join the rest of the students. Rin stopped and turned his head to look over his shoulder. "What exactly did you think you were doing? If you know that move then you must know full well I can have you arrested just for knowing it." 

"So that was Soul Burn!" Konekomaru exclaimed.

"What?" Ryuji asked. 

"Soul Burn, it's a forbidden technique that Exorcists have outlawed. They can temporarily infused their hand with dark magic and can burn not only their target's entire body but their soul as well, effectively erasing them from existence." Konekomaru informed him. "It's illegal for Exorcists to even learn the move." 

"That's right, it is a forbidden technique that Exorcists are not permitted to use. From here on out I do not want to see you even try to use it ever again, is that clear?" Yukio demanded. 

"Is that what you're teaching here? Weakness?" Rin asked blankly.

"What?" Yukio asked in a rather irritated tone. 

"You lack the conviction to do what must be done. Because of you how many more people will he attack, how many more will ultimately suffer and die because you let a Demon Prince go? You think he'll just stay in Gehenna? If you would have let me kill him no one else would ever have to suffer because of him again." 

"That's enough!" Yukio shouted. "That is a dark art, and is nothing but evil. We are not killers, we help people Rin." 

"That's what I intend to do. Help people by removing an evil from this world. Isn't that right?" Rin narrowed his eyes at Yukio, reminding him of the past. 

"Alright you!" Ryuji shouted from above. Rin looked back as Ryuji slid down into the arena. "Look, we promised not to tell but since he's not here I guess it doesn't matter. Professor Neuhaus told us what happened between you and your brother." Rin narrowed his eyes at Ryuji. Yukio looked shocked at this news. "Yeah, what he did was wrong and it was messed up. But the guy's trying to make up for it isn't he? Why do you have to keep acting like that?"

"You're beginning to meddle in affairs that do not concern you. I'd suggest you stop before you get hurt." Rin warned him. Rin then went for the ladder up once more. He grabbed onto the ladder and heard a click behind him. He and Ryuji looked to see one of Yukio's guns drawn. 

"Damn it Rin, I am your teacher and you will listen to me!" Yukio shouted, angered with Rin's stubbornness on the mater of an illegal move. The other students and teachers just stared at this. Rin let got of the ladder. 

"You know, this is the second time you pointed a gun at me." Rin reminded him. He turned around and walked over to Yukio. Yukio kept his aim on Rin as he approached. Then, Rin took hold of the barrel, and put it up to his own forehead. Yukio looked shocked. 

"Rin, what are you-"

"If you're going to shoot me, then shoot me already. Otherwise quit wasting my time." The room was silent after that. They all just stared as Rin held Yukio's gun up to his own head, ready to die without a care in the world. Rin stared blankly and Yukio. When Yukio looked in his eyes he could see he meant it too. Rin didn't give a damn if he died right then and there. To him Yukio had already betrayed him like this before, and he wasn't surprised Yukio did it again. Yukio could tell then that Rin was empty inside. He gave his brother a look of what seemed like pity. But it was also sadness. Because Yukio knew this was his fault. He lowered his gun. Without another word Rin turned away from him and went back to the ladder.

"Rin, what happened to you?" Yukio asked in a saddened tone. Rin stopped in his tracks for a moment. 

"I grew up." Rin told him with a bit of spite. That was the last thing he said before he finally headed up the ladder and out of the arena. Everyone just watched as Rin walked out of the room and left them. Class was over anyway. On his way down the hall Rin began to think about what had just happened.

_Yukio, you have no idea what i've been through._ He thought to himself.

* * *

**Four years earlier...**

In the city somewhere in Japan, an Imp was running down the street, unseen by all. It was a small creature about the size of a child with goat legs and red fur over all but its head. It had a human he but with the small horns that curved upwards slightly. What people could see however was an 11 year old Rin running down the streets. It had been a year of him living on the streets. His hair was longer now and extended to his neck, but did not yet cover his face. He was dressed in a grey hoodie with a denim vest that had its sleeves cut off over top, along with black jeans and old ratty black sneakers. He had kurikara slung on his back in its sheath. Everyone was staring at him as he ran down the sidewalks at full speed for seemingly no reason. They could not see that he was chasing an Imp. 

The Imp ran around two men entering a building and carrying a wooden dresser. Rin jumped over it and slid across the piece of furniture. "Hey, watch it!" They both shouted at him. Rin ignored them and continued to chase the small demon. It took a turn down an alley and Rin followed suit. The alley split at the end into a left turn or a right turn. The Imp tried to run right. Unknown to them, on that path a man stepped outside the back of a restaurant to take a smoke break. He was of average height for a man in his 30s, but was more built and muscular. He had tan skin and was clearly not of Japanese descent. He hair was in a very short cut and was blonde in color. He clicked his lighter and lit up a cigarette. He took a puff from it and exhaled a small cloud of smoke. He heard someone approaching from the alley and saw a boy chasing an Imp. Neitehr of them knew he could see demons too, and he just watched as they ran past. That alley led to a dead end however. The Imp stopped in front of the brick wall and turned to fearfully face his pursuer. 

"Come on man, I wasn't bothering you. Please just let me go." The Imp pleaded. 

"Not a chance." Rin told it. There was still some emotion in his voice at this age and he was clearly confident. He pulled kurikara off his back and unsheathed it. Blue flames erupted from the sword as he drew it and surrounded him. The man looked in shock at the boy when he saw this. 

"Blue flames, but that means you're one of us. Then why are you doing this?" The Imp asked with his back against the wall. 

"Because i'm not one of you." Rin answered in a threatening and intimidating manor. He slashed the Imp at and angle and finished it. IT screamed and turned into black smoke, returning once more to Gehenna. Rin stared at the spot where it once stood. He was about to turn around and leave when he heard something land on the ground behind him. He spun around and raised up his sword in a defensive manner. He saw a large ape liked creature with orange fur stand up on two feet and grin down at him. The ape demon was a head taller than the man watching over the scene, looming above the young Rin. "Never saw one of you before, what do I call you?" Rin asked with a smirk. 

"I am a Singe, a powerful simian demon. I heard about some kid going around and wiping my kind off the streets and I decided to come after you." The demon answered. "Never imagined this is what i'd find. But it doesn't matter, you gotta go kid." Rin smirked and prepared to face the demon. The man behind them let his cigarette fall to the ground and he stomped it out. He approached the two of them. Rin saw the man approaching and looked past his opponent.

"Hey old man, I know this looks weird but you better stay back." He told the approaching figure.

"First off, i'm only 35 so don't call me old man." He answered in a gruff voice. "As for you..."

"What?!" The Singe turned around to him. The man caught it by the throat with his wrist. He spun around in a half spin and lifted it into the air. 

"All praise is to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light." He knelt down on one knee as his finished the throw and tossed to demon on its own head. "Those who disbelieve equate others with their Lord." The demon began to burst into black mist.

"Damn those words Exorcist!" Was the last thing it shouted before it disappeared completely. Rin stared in amazement at watching the man dispel a demon like that. The man then stood back up and faced Rin with a rather serious look. 

"I guess I should thank you." Rin said to him, sheathing his sword as he did so.

"First I want you to answer me." He told Rin. "Those blue flames, they are a mark of Satan. Are you truly... a demon?" He narrowed his eyes at this strange boy. Rin stared back at him and began to expect another fight. 

"To answer your question, I am the son of Satan." Rin told him. "But I have no loyalty him or any other god damn demon. So don't call me one of them, because i'm not." The man stared at Rin before answering. 

"So, you're a spawn of Gehenna turned against it? What for?" 

"Like I told the Imp, Satan took everything from me. My father, my home, my place in this world. I want to make him pay for that. I'm going to slaughter every last demon I find until I can get to him." Rin replied with total seriousness and determination. "I'm guessing you must be an Exorcist." 

"I was." The man answered. "My name is Iman Kemurnian, i'm a former Exorcist from the Islamic Branch in Indonesia."

"Islamic Branch?" Rin repeated.

"That's right. The Vatican isn't the only one in charge of Exorcisms and protecting Assiah. Mecca has branches all over the world as well, seated in primarily Muslim countries. The Vatican does have a branch in Indonesia, but being that it's a primarily Islamic country the Mecca branch has more power." He explained. 

"Why aren't you with them anymore?" Rin asked,

"I was banned because they found my methods too extreme." 

"Sounds like my kind of methods." 

Iman smirked at that comment. "I'll tell you what." He pulled out a small piece of paper and began to write on it. "Come to this location around 6 tonight. I don't get off till 5 anyway. I'll train you, teach you how to fight properly and what you need to know about becoming an Exorcist. Even if it's just a freelance one." He handed Rin the slip of paper. Rin took it from him and read the address scribbled down. 

The address led to an abandoned commercial building. It was once used for offices, small businesses, group meetings, and all sorts of things. Now it was run down and unused. Rin stood outside and checked to make sure that this was the right place. 

"Good, you're here." He heard a familiar voice call. Rin looked to his left to see Iman approaching. "I know it's not much, but this place is close to my apartment. I figured it'd work great for training." 

"Are we allowed to enter here?" Rin asked. 

"Probably not, but these are the kind of tactics I employed." Iman answered before opening the door to the abandoned building. Rin followed behind. Iman led him up a flight of stairs to the fourth floor. He went to one of the abandoned rooms with Rin. It was large than most of the other rooms, the floor was all wood throughout the large space. Rin noticed at the far end of the room was a rusted hand rail going across most of the wall. "This place used to be a dance class, I figured this would give us plenty of room for sparring." Iman turned around to Rin. "Before we begin I want you to understand something. I'm not a kind and patient teacher, this is real life. I'm going to come at you with everything i've got, and if you can't keep up... well that's just too bad." Rin stared back at him intensely for a brief moment.

"Alright." He answered. Iman made good on his word and came at Rin full force. Rin was able to hodl him back surprisngly well but at the end of their session Rin was bruised and beaten. Iman, who had fought demons for many years, was still left panting and out of breath. 

"You're pretty good kid, I think there just might be hope for you yet." Iman turned to the door. "Meet here the same time tomorrow. This is going to be a seven day a week program. Got a problem with that?" Rin managed to stand up, despite the pain he was in. 

"No... not at all." He answered.

Two weeks later they began weapons training. Iman took some time out of every Sunday to teach Rin what he needed to know about exorcism and Exorcists. He told Rin about the different meister classes, about the eight Demon Kings, and the different classes of demons. Rin had learned that his teacher was once an Aria and Knight. He had the whole Quran memorized and could recite any fatal verse from it. He also used two kerambit knives in battle, which he also continued to always carry with him. When he began training he flipped the out and spun them around the rings on each thumb. Even though Rin has the advantage of reach with his sword, Iman was incredibly fast with his knives. He was easily able to block each strike, and eventually disarmed Rin. The day of training ended when Rin received a fairly decent cut on his left thigh.

* * *

**Two years later...**

Rin, now 13, entered the training space he used with his teacher Iman. Iman was already there waiting for him, leaning up against one of the walls. "Iman-sensei, i'm ready for today's training." Rin told him, his voice more faded and emotionless than it was when he first met his teacher. He was still dressed in the same outfit he had that day too, only he had gotten clothes that were a little bigger now so that they fit.

"Not today Rin." Iman told him. "You've actually advanced far faster than I expected, and i'm afraid there's practically nothing more I can teach you." 

"So what then? This is it?" Rin asked.

"Not exactly. I can only train you in hand to hand and weapon combat. However, you possess a special gift I don't." 

"You mean the flames."

"Yes, the blue flames of Satan. Unfortunately I can not teach you how to wield them as a weapon."

"Is there someone who can?" Rin asked.

"Yes. Head west, into the mountains, seek the demon hermit Yajirobe and ask him to teach you. He's an old demon who has also turned his back in Gehenna, living a solitary life in those mountains. He should be able to teach you how to control your flames, assuming he'll teach you." Iman got off the wall and walked over to Rin. "This is were we part ways Rin, whatever path you choose in life I wish you well." For the first time since they knew each other Iman offered Rin his hand as a gesture of understanding. Rin took it and shook his hand. 

"You too." He replied. Rin left that building alone and headed for the edge of the city. Truthfully he had no idea what his path in life was. All he wanted to do was make Satan pay. He had no plan, no resources, and now just some built up skills to do it. He started to realize then that he needed a plan if he was going to take on Satan. Hopefully this demon hermit would help with that.

* * *

The mountains where the demon hermit dwelled were colorful and peaceful. The people of the city did not come to these mountains, even though they could been seen from the perimeter of the city. This made the mountains rather quite and tranquil. The grass was bright green and the plant life was aplenty. Rin was able to sense demonic energy but only just. At age 13 he wasn't as good ad it as his modern day self, and his range was more limited. He didn't sense anything as he searched for an hour though. Then he found a flat part in the middle of the mountains and he began to sense something. The clearing was large enough for one person to live alone, and it was well hidden by the mountains. Rin went into the small plain and stared calling out. "Yajirobe, are you here?" He shouted as he began looking around. It looked deserted except for one tree and a large boulder. "Demon hermit Yajirobe, are you here?" Rin called again. He looked around at the seemingly empty clearing. "Hmm, maybe there's something else i'm sensing." He heard movement and snapped his head to face the boulder that was now shaking. It suddenly shot a couple feet in the air. Two legs and arms came out from it, as well as the had of an old man. He was holding a wooden staff as well. The boulder looked to be a part of him. His arms, legs, and head were in normal distance from one another as they would be on a human, but the boulder extended up above. 

"Yes yes, who is it?" The old man answered. 

"Are you Yajirobe?" Rin asked.

"Sure am. You'll have to forgive me for not answering right away, I was taking a nap you see. I don't get visitors here often. So who are you, and what brings you my way?" Yajirobe asked Rin.

"My name is Rin Okumara, and i've come to ask you to train me." 

"Train you?" Yajirobe repeated. "My, it's been awhile since anyone's asked me to do that." Yajirobe notice the sword on Rin's back. "Oh, is that Kurikara?" 

"Yes." Rin replied.

"My, that's quite a powerful and old weapon. Wherever did you get it from?" Yajirobe asked. 

"My adoptive father, Shiro Fujimoto gave it to me shortly before he died." Rin told the old demon.

"Did you say Shiro Fujimoto?" Yajirobe sounded shocked. Rin nodded. "I see, so the former Paladin has passed has he? You have my sympathies Rin Okumara."

"So will you train me?" 

"I suppose, what sort of training do you need?" Yajirobe asked.

"I need to learn how to control my flames." Yajirobe stated at the boy for a moment.

"Forgive me, it sounded like you said flames." 

"I did." Rin took the cloth that Kurikara was in off his back and unsheathed the sword, keeping the scabbard inside the cloth. Blue flames erupted around Rin and suddenly surrounded him. Yajirobe stared in amazement. 

"I see, blue flames... that must mean you are a son of Satan." Yajirobe noted.

"I am." Rin replied, sheathing his sword once more. "I received two years of martial arts and weapons training from another master already. He told me he could not help me any further and told me to seek you in order to better control my flames." 

"I see. But first let me ask, what exactly are you planning on doing with this training?" Yajirobe questioned him.

"I want to become an Exorcist, and make Satan and all his minions pay." Rin told him with a hint of rage in his voice. The old hermit frowned. 

"You have a great deal of hate in your heart, that will only cause you to fail." Yajirobe told him. 

"I have no use for such emotions." Rin replied. "I simply wish to see my dream become a reality." Yajirobe still frowned. 

"I will teach you how to control your flames. But I beg that you do not do anything foolish." He told his new student. "Now, do you have any money on you?"

"None, why?" Rin asked. Yajirobe held out his hand and suddenly some cash appeared in his hand. 

"Let's see just how fit you are. I want you to run to the city and but some paper and something to write with. If you don't make it back within three hours, then you fail." He offered Rin the money. "Time starts when you take the cash from my hand." Rin swiped the money and took off full speed. Something that almost seemed like the old hermit got robbed. 

Rin manged to return and hour and a half later. Yajirobe looked over surprised when he sensed the young boy approaching. "May, back so soon?" He asked pleasantly surprised. "You did better than I expect." 

"Thank you sensei, my old teacher told me the same thing." Rin replied as he approached. He was carrying a blank notebook and pencil in hand. 

"Now, first things first. I want to see your Tamer abilities." Yajirobe instructed his student as he began to stand up.

"Tamer abilities? What made you think I was a Tamer?" Rin asked. 

"Have you not taken the test before?" Yajirobe asked. Rin shook his head. "Well, you are the son of the Lord of all Demons. Therefor you should be able to become quite a skilled Tamer. Hand me the notebook." Rin handed the notebook and pen over to his new teacher. Yajirobe began to scribble on it before tearing out a page and handing it to Rin. "This is a basic summoning circle. The test given to Exorcists in training is they are given a circle just like this and asked to attempt to summon a familiar. If they summon one right away, it means they are a natural and highly skilled Tamer. The big organizations like The Vatican, Mecca, and Jerusalem only give attention to those Tamers. However, even if you fail it doesn't mean you can't become a Tamer, it just means you need some practice. Go ahead, give it a small blood offering of your own blood and just say whatever comes to mind when trying to summon a demon." Rin glanced down at the summoning circle. He drew Kurikara from his back and cut his thumb, placing it back after he had intentionally cut himself. He gave it a dab of blood and thought.

"Come to me." He said. Nothing happened. 

"That's a bit simple, summons are usually in a chant, and usually rhyme. Though they don't always have to." Yajirobe told his student. "Try once more." 

"Now come to me hell spawn, I summon thee." Rin chanted. Again there was nothing. 

"Third time's the charm, once more." 

"I call upon the gates of Gehenna, send me your assistance." This time there was a poof of smoke and an abnormally large bird appeared in front of Rin. 

"Ah, just like I expected. That there Rin is a Harpy. They're not that powerful mind you but they are fast. It's an excellent job for a first summon." 

"Thank you Master Yajirobe." Rin replied rather blankly. 

* * *

After several months of training, Yajirobe told Rin he would be doing something special one day. He led Rin to another location within the mountains. Eventually they came upon and cave which Yajirobe led Rin into. It was dark and dank inside the cave. Water could be heard dripping from stalactites. They didn't got in very far and were only a few meters away from the mouth of the cave. "So what are we doing here?" Rin asked when they arrived. 

"We're going to test your ability to control your fire. Should all go well, you'll also obtain a new summon." Yajirobe told his young student. 

"Sounds like a good deal." Rin replied. Yajirobe pulled out a sheet of paper and began to draw on it. He created a summoning circle Rin had never seen before. He placed it on the ground and cut his thumb with a small knife. 

"From blood of crimson red, I hereby summon you back from the dead." The old hermit chanted. There was a gust of wind in a circular motion, followed by another figure suddenly appearing in the cave with them. He was dressed in samurai armor and had white sunken skin. His eyes had black sclera and a green iris color. 

"Hey, why'd you summon me here old hermit?" Tetsunochi asked in an irritated confusion.

"Rin, allow me to introduce you to Tetsunochi Gunba, infamous war lord from the 1700s." Yajirobe gestured over to the summoned demon. "He was punished for his crimes by being turned into a demon. He's now a familiar for myself, and he'll be your sparring partner today."

"What?! You want me to take on this kid?" Testunochi responded with disbelief. 

"Indeed I do. I want Rin to use what I have taught him in a real life application. Sparring is always necessary when it comes to training." 

"Come on, look at the kid." Tetsunochi gestured to Rin. "He's only like 13." 

"True, but he is also the son of Satan." Yajriobe told the old warlord.

"Oh, is that right?" Tetsunochi now gave Rin an ambitious glance. "Well in that case I gladly accept." He drew his katana and faced Rin. Rin drew his own sword and blue flames suddenly appeared around him. 

"Rin, your opponent has centuries more combat training than you. You can win this through skill alone." Yajirobe told his student. "You're going to need to control your flames if you hope to beat him. If you succeed, you'll earn the right to summon him as a familiar." 

"That's how this old man got me here." Tetsunochi pointed his sword at Yajirobe. "However, you will be in for one hell of a fight. **Demon Whirldind!** " Tetsunochi used his spinning attack and went straight for Rin. Rid dodged it to the side and Tetsunochi zipped right pas him. He stopped the attack mid air and slid backward on his feet. Rin pointed the palm of his free hand at Tetsunochi. 

"Flame bullets!" Several objects of flame that looked like two cones connected at the flat end shout out of Rin hand in a circle. They then locked onto the familiar and went for him. Tetusnochi spun his sword inc a circular motion in front of him, slashing through all the bullets that came for him. 

"You won't win that easy!" Tetsunochi yelled before using his signature attack again. Rin dodged again and this time held out his palm as Tetsunochi drew close.

"Flamethrower!" Blue flames shot out of Rin's hand just like the attack name described. Tetsunochi was hit mid-attack with it and was now himself surrounded by blue flames.

"OW! HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT!" He fell to the ground and began to roll around to put out the flames. Once they were out he jumped back to his feet. "You brat, you'll pay for that." He rushed in and preformed an overhead swing at Rin. Rin blocked it with Kurikara and the two locked like that. Tetsunochi kicked Rin's right leg out and caused him to ifall back. Rin landed on his hands and back flipped away. Tetsunochi was quick and was already upon Rin by the time he got to his feet again. He slashed horizontally and Rin blocked it once more, but just barley. "Now die!" This time it was a straight jab. Rin jumped in the air and twirled around. With his right foot he landed on the dull side of the sword and directed the attack downwards. Tetsunochi and Yajirobe watched in amazement at this maneuver. With one slash Rin hit the old war lord in the throat and sent him to the ground. The demon warlord rubbed his throat.

"That would have killed me if I were still human." He remarked. Then with another would be fatal move, Rin shoved Kurikara through the demon's chest, just missing his heart. It pierced through the back of his armor and into the rock ground of the cave. "YEOOOWWW!" Tetsunochi shouted in pain and began to flail around. Rin kicked the bottom of the hand he was holding his sword in and caused it to fly up into the air. Rin caught in as it fell back down and aimed the blade at Tetsunochi. 

"It's over." Rin dully declared. 

"Yes, i'd certainly say it is." Yajirobe agreed. "Tetsunochi, from this day on you will serve as not only my familiar, but to my student here as well."

"Ah crap." He moped. Yajirobe broke the summoning circle and Tetsunochi disappeared, along with the sword in Rin's hand. Rin pulled his own out of the ground and sheathed it once more. 

"Excellent job today Rin." Yajirobe congratulated his student.

"Thank you sensei." 

"However there is something I noticed during your fight, something we'll address tomorrow. You can get some rest for now."

"With all due respect sensei, i'd rather not. I'd rather keep training." Rin told Yajirobe. Yajirobe thought for a second. 

"Very well, how about some reading?" Yajirobe suggested. He held out his hand and there was a poof of smoke as a scroll appeared in his hand. It was an rather old and wrinkly looking thing, Rin guessed it to be as old as the hermit himself. "This is an ancient scroll. They contain a great number of things that go beyond even what the Exorcists know. I'll lend you a few of mine and you can read up on them." He tossed the small scroll to Rin who caught it in mid air. Rin looked dawn the small roll of paper in his hand and wondered what it would teach him.

The next day, Yajirobe led Rin to a different cave elsewhere in the mountains. He told Rin that there was someone else living within the mountains. He was a friend of Yajirobe and would certainly help Rin. After a shot bit of travelling they arrived. Yajirobe led Rin further into the cave this time. After walking past the point where outside light entered the cave, they could see another one up ahead. The cave took and turn and then led to what was not a natural cave formation. It was a spiral ramp that led straight down as it made a corkscrew. Yajirobe and rind descend down it, further into the mountain. After what seemed like a long trip down they arrived. There was a very large room that the spiral path led to. The ceiling was very high, and it looked to be a blacksmith's workshop. But all the tools were larger than normal. Rin took notice of a large figure on the other side of the room. 

"Aerarius." Yajirobe called to the six meter giant on the other he looked back towards the entrance. He was a tall and bulky giant of a demon, with brown skin and two normal looking eyes with yellow irises. His black hair was in a short army style cut and he had a black goatee around his mouth. Rin also noticed he had a tail very similar to his own, but that split into two. 

"Ah, Yajriobe my old friend." Aerarius put down his tools and went to greet the old hermit. "What brings you here, and who's the boy?"

"This is Rin Okumara. Rin, this is Aerarius, the legendary demon smith. He's a master blacksmith, he forges some of the most powerful weapons and armor know to Assiah or Gehenna." 

"Pleased to meet you Rin. I see you're already familiar with my handiwork." The giant blacksmith greeted Rin with a smile. 

"What do you mean?" Rin asked in a jaded tone. 

"That sword on your back, i'd recognize it anywhere. That's Kurikara, i'm the one who forged it." Aerarius pointed to himself with his thumb.

"You made this sword?" Rin asked. 

"That's right, would you mind if I see it?" Aerarius asked. Rin took the sword off his back and handed it to the giant man. He unsheathed it, and blue flames erupted from Rin. This caught the smith's attention. 

"Blue flames. Are you an offspring of Satan?" 

"That's right." Rin answered. Aerarius looked a little surprised before inspecting the sword. 

"Yes, I see it here. Someone placed a seal on this sword, I assume that was to seal in your powers unless the sword was drawn." Aerarius noted.

"I've come here to ask you to make Rin another sword. I observed in his training yesterday he wasn't able to use his full potential with just one sword. I believe being able to use two at once would provide far better combat advantages. Plus he should have one that would not draw out his demonic powers in order to keep his identity secret to others." Yajirobe gave Aerarius his request. 

"Hmm..." The blacksmith continued to inspect Kurikara. "Yes, I think I can do that. I'll also temper Kurikara for you. The seal seems to have weakened it a bit." 

A few hours later, Aerarius had both forged Rin a new sword and tempered his old one. He approached Rin and the old hermit with both swords on a new holster that would fit around Rin's waist. "Here is what you requested." Aerarius handed Rin the new swords. "I've created a brand new one for you. I call it Ginkaze, Silver Wind. It'll be far lighter and quicker than your other sword." Rin drew his new sword and swung it around lightly. It certainly felt much lighter, almost as if it weighed nothing. "I've also tempered Kurikara like I promised. The seal still remains, so it still will bring out your flames when drawn. You'll find it much stronger than it once was. For ease of use i've also made a new holster, you can now carry both at the hip." Rin put on the new holster and both of his swords now rested on his right hip. 

"Thank you Aerarius, I will not forget this." Rin showed his gratitude, even with his normal cold unfeeling tone. 

"Don't worry about it, forging is my passion. Though i'd always appreciate anything interesting you could show me." Aerarius replied. 

"Thank you very much Aerarius, we are both very grateful."

"Hey, don't mention it. you should come by more often, I don't know how you can stand living out all alone like you do." 

"Perhaps I shall old friend. Until then, farewell." Yajirobe and Rin both headed for the exit and ascended back up the path.

"Master Yajirobe." Rin called to his master.

"Hmm?" Yajirobe turned his head to Rin.

"There's a technique mentioned in my reading that I wanted to ask you about, Soul Burn." Yajirobe frowned when Rin asked about it.

"I'm sure you also must have read that it is a forbidden technique, and all Exorcst branches have outlawed it." 

"I have, but it still intrigues me. Can it really destroy a person's soul?" Rin asked.

"Indeed, just as the name implies it burns away at not only the intended target's body but their soul as well. They will receive no afterlife, and those from Gehenna will not be sent back."

"Cam you teach it to me?" Yajirobe frowned directly at Rin. 

"Why on earth would you want to learn such an evil technique?" Yajirobe questioned him. 

"Just looking to expand my arsenal." Rin answered. Yajirobe knew he was lying, he knew Rin wanted to learn it for a reason. yet he could not figure out why.

"Rin... you aren't planning on using it on your brother are you?" 

"Don't be ridiculous." Rin shot back. "I hate him, this is true. But I wouldn't go through the trouble just to seek revenge. If he crosses my path again i'll repay him all the pain he has caused me, if I never see him again good riddance. This has nothing to do with him. As I said, I simply wish to have a larger arsenal of techniques at my disposal." Yajirobe thought for a moment. He had no clue of Rin's intentions, and that unsettled him.

"We shall see..."

* * *

**Two years later...**

Yajirobe was sitting down in the middle of the clearing where he resided. He was enjoying a meal of rice and wild onions he made himself. Rin's training would not beging for another two hours. Which is why he was surprised to see Rin walking over the hill towards him. "Ah, Rin. What are you doing here so early?" Yajirobe asked when Rin drew close. 

"I'm here to tell you this is where we part ways." Rin answered. 

"Already? It's only been two years of training." Yajirobe responded in surprise. 

"That's how much time I spent with my other master. Besides, I think i've learned enough and it's time for me to start on finding my place in this world." Rin told him in a stoic voice. 

"I see... well I wish you luck Rin Okumara. If you ever need me for anything you know where to find me." Rin nodded before walking away. Yajirobe went back to eating his meal and started to think about paying Aerarius that visit.

A few hours later, Rin was on a boat off the coast of Japan. He made his way for the nearest coastal city and paid a man to take him to a secluded island. There was one last thing he planned on doing before heading to enroll at True Cross. He would continue his education in fighting demons there, and then he would continue with his plan. There was just one thing he needed in order to help. The small speedboat pulled over at the shore of a small island. It could be traversed across in just one minute, but it was deserted and void of people. 

"Are you sure this is the place?" The man who Rin paid asked. 

"I'm positive." Rin replied as he stepped off the boat and onto land. "Thank you for your services." 

"Is someone else coming to pick you up?"

"Don't worry, I have a ride out." Rin replied as he began to head for the other side of the island. The man in the boat shrugged and sped off, making a U-turn for land. Rin waited a minute for him to leave before getting on with it. He pulled out a sheet of paper from his coat and began to draw on it. He created the most intricate and elaborate summoning circle he had ever done. But he practiced it and memorized it from the scrolls. He bit his thumb and made the blood offering. _One last thing before True Cross._ He thought to himself.

"Hear me creature of the cold and icy black, most most fowl from the dark depths, come forth and share with me your power. I summon thee, terror of the sevens seas." There was a moment of silence before a few bubbles appeared in the ocean in front of Rin. Suddenly there was much more and a creature began to emerge. Rin drew both swords and stood there in a rather collective manner as a large monstrous white sea-serpent began to arise from the ocean. It roared at Rin with a breath that smelled of thousands of dead fish. 

_Just like with Tetsunochi._


	6. Amaimon

Shiemi walked down the halls of the old dorm with a half asleep look on her face. She was making her way to the old cafeteria to get some breakfast. It was the day after the incident during training. That was one of their last classes for the day so Rin and Yukio had not seen each other since. When they were all back at the dorm some of them had seen Yukio and some Rin but not together. It appeared that they were trying to avoid each other. Or, more so Rin was trying to avoid Yukio. Yukio was avoiding Rin a bit too but he was mostly contemplating his own decision. Shiemi was surprised to see him alone in the old cafeteria. He was sitting there with his head down and his arms on each side of his head. He looked distressed, and Shiemi walked over to him.

"Yuki, are you ok?" She asked as she approached. He let out a sigh. 

"I just don't know anymore Shiemi." He answered. "I don't know about Rin anymore." 

"Wh-what do you mean?" She asked, concerned about what he was talking about. 

"I don't know how I feel about trying to be close to him again. When I saw him that day for the first time in years I was so happy. I wanted to make it up to him for what I said to him. I wanted to try and be brothers once more. But you've seen how he is. He's so cold and unfeeling. At first I just thought it was a new attitude after how he must have grown up or to protect himself. But after what happened yesterday, i'm starting to doubt this will ever work out." He let out another sigh. "I wonder if I did the right thing, maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him yesterday." Shiemi looked down, feeling a bit saddened. 

"Don't give up Yuki." She told him. "I know how Rin can he, and he does seem a bit emotionally shut off. But I think if you're patient he'll eventually see you're sincere." 

"You think?" He asked, now looking at her. 

"Yeah." She reassured him with a smile. "Truthfully, I don't think Rin's as cold as he acts. He saved me back then, and Bon in the arena. He also saved Miss Kamiki and while I am sad she was lying about being my friend i'm glad he got her to tell me the truth. I think even though he acts like he doesn't care he's still a good person." She smiled as she began to think about the kind things Rin had done. 

"Yeah... I guess i'll just have to wait." Yukio agreed. Shiemi smiled at him, happy to hear his resolve. "Will you be alright to attend today's exercise after what happened yesterday?" 

"Yeah, i'll be fine." She told him. 

"Well then get something to eat and get ready. We're headed out at noon." Yukio told her as he stood up.

* * *

The students were all gathered at the entrance to an empty amusement park. It was a brightly colored and cheery place, despite being currently void of people. Yukio was the only teacher with them, and he was standing facing his students as they stood side by side in a line. Except for Shiemi, who was currently missing. "Alright, before we begin today's exercise has anyone seen Miss Moriyama?" Yukio asked them.

"Coming!" They all suddenly heard Shiemi shout from behind the group of students. They all turned around and most of the boy's faces turned red. Shiemi was now dressed in a school uniform, complete with white dress shirt, a pink skirt, and white stockings. "Sorry i'm late, I took too much time putting on my new outfit." She apologized as she finally arrived to join the others students. 

"Wow Shiemi, you look... really good." Ryuji complimented with a red face. 

"Heh, yeah it's real cute." Renzo agreed, a wide grin across his face. 

"Alright, that's enough everyone." Yukio cut in. "Now lets begin with today's assignment. There are three low level demons that we've let loose in the park. You will be paired in teams of two, with one team of three. Each team will be given a specific target to track down and eliminate. Being that this is a team effort you will be graded as such. The teams will be as followed." Yukio looked down at his clipboard he brought with him. "Team one will be Rin and Shiemi. You will be tasked with tracking down a spirit." Shiemi smiled brightly and Rin just stared blankly. Neither one said a word. "Team two will be Ryuji and Izumo."

"WHAT?!" The two of them shouted together. 

"There's no way i'm working with her!" Ryuji shouted in protest. 

"Yeah, no way i'll be in the same team with him!" Izumo shouted. 

"Well you'll both just have to learn to deal with it." Yukio told them as he fixed his glasses. "You two are assigned with tracking and eliminating an Imp. Team three will be a three man team with Renzo, Konekomaru, and Yamada. You three are to track down a low level Naga. This one shouldn't give you too much trouble if it decides to fight back. Any questions?" None spoke up. "Then your assignment begins now." The gates to the amusement park opened up and Ryuji began to run in almost immediately after they were open. 

"You better be able to keep up!" He yelled back to Izumo. 

"Hey, we're not supposed to be separated you idiot!" She shouted back as she chased after him. The other two teams walked in more casually and went their separate ways to try and find their targets. 

* * *

Rin and Shiemi were now farther into the park. They had headed left from the entrance while team 3 headed to the right. They assumed Ryuji and Izumo were probably still running around trying to compete with one another rather than work together. Rin walked behind Shiemi as she cheerfully strolled throughout the park. She had a huge smiled on her face as they made their way around the place. It was very bright and colorful, just like her garden. She loved it here and wished they could stay longer than they planned to. "You seem cheerier than usual today." Rin remarked. 

"Oh..." Shiemi's huge grin shifted into a small content one. "I've never been to an actual amusement park before. I was always too afraid and shy growing up. So i'm really glad to be able to be here right now." She explained. "Maybe now that i'm older i'll actually come back here someday. Do you think we can?" She smiled up to him hopefully.

"Why are you asking for my permission?" He stared down at her. "You are capable of making your own decisions." 

"I know, but I think I still might be afraid of going alone. I trust you so I thought maybe we could come back here together sometime." She told him with a big smile. Rin stared at her for a moment, off put by her cheery and hopeful demeanor. 

"We'll see." He replied. "Perhaps i'll come back with you." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah." That was of course if he'd still be around. He still had his own plans that he intended to see through one way or another. 

They heard crying up ahead. "Hey, what's that?" Shiemi went to go check it out. Rin followed close behind. They came to a small courtyard where they found a boy sitting on bench crying. Except he did not look like a normal child. He was translucent, and his whole body had a cyan tint. 

"That's our ghost." Rin told her. 

"Aww, he's crying." Shiemi said sympathetically. She took a few steps closer to the apparition. 

"That's not a good idea. While he may be mostly harmless he's still a demon. He need to be exercised in order to cross over." Rin informed his partner. 

"But Rin look at him!" Shiemi protested. "He's sad and alone. Maybe we can help him cross over peacefully." She began to walk towards the spirit of the young boy once more. Rin sighed. She had a kind heart, but he knew it was a foolish effort. Shiemi went up to the spirit and sat down on the bench next to him. "Excuse me, are you alright?" She asked. 

The young boy sniffled. "My mommy, have you seen my mommy around here?" He asked through tearful eyes. 

"I'm sorry but, I don't think you're mommy's coming back. You see... you're dead." When she told him that he began wailing again.

"Mommy, I want my mommy!" He cried out. 

"Oh you poor thing. Come here." Shiemi pulled the spirit into an embracing hug. "You're all alone huh? I'm really sorry to hear that." Rin stared at them reflectively for a moment. He saw a brief glimpse of himself at a younger age. This boy appeared to be only about 5, but Rin knew what loneliness felt like. He began to wonder what it would have been like if he met Shiemi earlier. Maybe things wouldn't turn out like they were. Maybe he would have held onto the last sliver of hope and humanity he had. 

Those thoughts were cut short when they boy reacted. A mischievous grin came across the apparition's face. He suddenly shoved both of his hands under Shiemi's breasts and groped her. "Ha! Gotcha you cow!" 

"Eek!" Shiemi cried out at being touched unwanted. Before either one of them had time to way anything else there was a brief gust of wind and the ghost boy went flying into the wall of a nearby building. While being able to pass through at will, he was unable to make himself able to move through buildings as the attack came too quickly. He hit the wall hard and left a crater. He was upside and hit the ground on his head, stunned from the impact of the attack. When Shiemi looked to her side she saw Rin was suddenly standing there, his silver sword drawn already. He had struck the spirit with the flat side of the blade and sent him flying to teach him a lesson. "Rin?" Shiemi asked in surprise.

"You brat." Rin scolded the spirit. "How dare you treat a woman like that. You are no innocent child, you are evil, and evil must be punished." 

"Woah, hold on! You wouldn't hurt a kid would you?" The ghost pleaded. 

"You're no mere kid. You're a disrespectful little punk who needs to be taught his place." Rin began to approach. "This world is ruled by the strong, those with power decide the fates of those below them. In this case i'm the one with power, and i've decided that you must be punished." He looked at the spirit with a bit of anger. 

_Geez, this guy's a heartless bastard._ The boy thought to himself. He suddenly made himself no longer solid and passed through the wall he was previously thrown against. 

"Oh no you don't." Rin said in his usual cold voice. He ran towards the building and jumped onto the roof. "Wait here Miss Moriyama." 

"Rin wait!" Shiemi tried to run after but he was quickly darting away across the rooftops as he tracked down the spirit. She wasn't as physically fit as he was and couldn't jump up to roofs, much less dart across them. She sighed and decided to listen to Rin. She went back to the bench to sit and wait.

* * *

Renzo opened to door that led to one of the concession stands. "Hello, are you here Naga?" Renzo called as he looked around the room. When he didn't see anything he closed the door. "No, doesn't look like he's in this one either." 

"Do you really have to check just the food stands?" Konekomaru asked. 

"Hey, you can't blame a guy for being hungry." Renzo responded. Konekomaru sighed. 

"You don't have any ideas do you Yamada?" Yamada shrugged and look confused from under his hood. 

"Well i'll guess we'll just have to search every food stand until we find our target." Renzo grinned gleefully before moving to the stand next door. Konekomaru looked upset. 

"how did I get dragged into this?" He asked himself. 

"Hello, Naga?" Renzo called as he poked his head in the door of the next vendor stand. 

"We'll be at this all day at this rate." Konekomaru said miserably. 

_Hissss!_

"Aah!" Renzo stumbled backwards away from the concession stand. A long purple snake with green markings down it's back and around it's eyes slithered out from the stand. "Crap!" Renzo pulled out three metal rods from inside his shirt. He placed them all together to make a long staff with a circle at one end and rings inside the circle. "Good thing I had this with me." 

"Hold on, i'll help!" Konekomaru shouted to him. "Let's see, fatal verse for a Naga... The Lord God said to serpent 'Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all the cattle, and more than every beast on the field..." The serpent coiled and attempted to strike Konekomaru. Renzo jumped in the way and the snake ended up catching the end of his staff in its mouth. 

"Gotcha!" 

"On your belly you will god, and dust you will eat all the days of your life." Konekomaru finished. With it's fatal verse recited, the demon let out one final hiss as it exploded into a cloud of black dust. 

"Phew!" Renzo wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Good job there Konekomaru."

"Yeah, thanks for covering me." He replied. 

"No problem." Renzo smiled at his friend. He then suddenly look confused. "Hey, where did Yamada go?" 

"Huh?" Konekomaru turned around and noticed that their third partner was nowhere to be seen. "Man, that guy sure is mysterious." He remarked. 

* * *

Rin was now in the middle of another courtyard in the park. He had lost the spirit's trail and it was nowhere to be seen. He cursed himself for being so careless and letting it go. He should have killed it right away. "Can't believe I let the damn thing escape." He muttered aloud. He went over to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard and sat down on the ground in front of it. "Oh well, might as well take a little break." He had spent at least 10 minutes jumping around the nearby roofs trying to hunt down the ghost that had grabbed Shiemi against her will. After eventually deciding to give up he landed in the courtyard we has in now. He needed to plan and think his next step. He didn't want to let the thing escape again, or for Shiemi to receive a bad grade on his behalf. Little did he know a figure was now behind him and slowly reaching down towards him. 

Rin sensed a powerful demonic presence behind him. He fell to the ground on his left side and lifted his right leg into the air. He kicked the figure that was behind him in the head using the heel of his foot. The man with his hair in a spike caught a hard kick and was sent to the ground next to Rin, who quickly got back to his feet and drew Ginkaze. 

"Ow, that hurt you know." The man told Rin as he too started to get up. Rin stared down the powerful presence in front of him. 

"Who are you?" Rin asked calmly.

"I am Amimon, King of Earth." He declared proudly. 

"Amimon? So, you're one of the Demon Kings." Rin realized. 

"That is right." 

"Then why are you here?" Rin continued to question him.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Amimon responded. "I just came here to have some fun with you. I was planning to steal Kurikara and force you to try and get it back but it seems that didn't work."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I can sense demonic energy." Rin told him. 

"Oh, so you can use that power even without Kurikara drawn? Impressive." Amimon commented. "But without it, you are no match for me." Amaimon came at Rin full speed with a swift right kick. Rin blocked it with the flat side of his sword but just barely. The kick was still so powerful Rin was sent sliding on his feet. "Impressive." Amaimon used the same leg to spin and try to kick Rin with his heel. Rin jumped above the attack and back flipped a distance away. He landed on his feet about 5 meters away from Amimon and held his sword up defensively. Amaimon came at Rin with an elbow attack. He held his hands together and tried to jab his elbow straight into Rin. Rin side stepped it and got behind his opponent. He grabbed Amaimon on the other side of the elbow he tried to attack with and kicked him  in the lower leg on the same side. Knocking him off balance with the kick, he then threw the demon king into the wall of a nearby building. Amaimon hit it hard and left a series of cracks where he impacted. 

Amaimon countered by holding his hand up and sending several drill shaped projectiles at Rin. Rin slashed through them all skillfully and stopped his attack. Amaimon then punched the ground and sent a large jagged rock formation at Rin that traveled along the ground. Rin was not the one to stop it this time. A figure jumped in the way and broke the rock attack. A man in a gray hoodie was now standing between Rin and Amaimon. "Yamada?" Rin was surprised to see him but still kept an unfaltering tone.

"Enough with this act." Yamada suddenly said with a female voice. He pulled off his hoodie disguise to reveal he was actually an adult woman with pinkish-red hair that had yellow tips. She was also dressed in a rather revealing bikini top. 

"Oh my." Amaimon commented. "You don't look like a student, just who are you?"

"You're right, i'm not. I'm with the Vatican." The woman replied. "I was sent here to spy on this kid in case he really is the son of Satan. Which it appears he is." Rin glared at her. 

"Well, no use hiding it anymore." Rin said before he drew his second sword. Blue flames erupted around him and surrounded him like an aura. 

"There it is." Amaimon mocked Rin. "See. I knew you could draw your demon power. You didn't even need me to steal your sword." Rin stared emotionlessly at Amaimon. Without a word, he tossed Kurikara up in the towards Amaimon. It was not intended as an attack, but to pass the sword to the demon king. Amaimon caught it in mid air and held it in his right hand. He then jumped back and landed on the roof above. 

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" The woman questioned Rin, looking at him as if he'd just gone mad.

"Well I never expected it to be that easy." Amaimon remarked. "Now what should I do with this sword? Shall I break and leave you stuck in this form?" The woman gritted her teeth.

"Hey kid, I sure hope you know what you're doing." She told Rin. She didn't get an answer. In the blink of an eye and vanished as the blue flames closed in around where he was once standing. She and Amaimon both stared at that in shock.

"Hey, where'd he-" Before he could finish speaking, Amaimon felt an intense pain in his right shoulder. Rin was suddenly behind him, his right hand on Kurikara and his other held Ginkaze, which he used to stab into Amaimon's shoulder. 

"I bet no one told you I could teleport to Kurikara huh?" Rin asked dryly. Amaimon gritted his teeth and made a noise of rage. He pulled himself forward and off Rin's sword while also letting go of Kurikara. He spun around and attepted to claw Rin with his right hand. Rin jumped high above the attack and brought his left elbow over his head. When he came back down, he struck Amaimon atop his head and sent him through the portion of the roof that overhung past the building wall. Amaimon crashed into the ground below with destructive force. Shura was even able to feel a shockwave from the attack. Amaimon was face down against the concrete ground for only a moment. He soon began to push himself back up. Rin landed on the ground between him and Shura. "Don't take me so lightly. While it's true you're hundreds of years older than me you're still the second weakest of the Demon Kings." Amaimon glared at Rin.

"Who are you calling weak!?" He demanded. He lunged at Rin, launching himself straight for him. He also summoned earth to surround his right hand like a boxing glove, which he extended outwards as he shot through the air. Rin stepped to the side and turned to dodge. As Amaimon passed Rin held out his right hand with two fingers extended out as he held Kurikara. 

"Flamethrower." Rin dully announced his attack as a large ball of blue flames engulfed Amaimon. Amaimon passed out the fire quickly as his attacked continued, but there was still some fire on him. He rolled over his shoulder and stood back up to face Rin. He looked burnt up and dirtied. Rin didn't have time to notice as he was already attacking again. Before Amaimon could react, he was kicked in the face by Rin. Rin pulled a 360 spin kick and nailed Amaimon, who was sent flying into the side of another building. After the dust settled, Amaimon was standing on his feet once more with an angry look on his face. 

"We shall settle this another time." He told Rin with a glare. Amaimon's entire body seemed to turn into stone, starting from the ground up until he was a statue. The rock statue then turned into dust that blew away with the wind. With Amaimon gone, Rin turned to the woman who he once knew as Yamada. 

"Geez, i've never seen someone dispatch a Demon King so easily." She commented. "Even if he was the second weakest, he was still a Demon King. Very well done."

"Now about you... who are you?" Rin asked. 

"My name is Shura Kirigakure, and I like I said i'm with the Vatican." She answered. 

"I see..." Rin stared her down. "Then does that mean you intend to kill me?"

Shura smirked. "Not exactly. You see, I didn't exactly come here just because the Vatican asked me to. I was also a friend of your father." 

"I see." Rin replied, his voice easing up a bit. "So are you going to attempt to kill me or not?" 

Shura gave him a conflicted look. "My orders are to kill you if you turn out to truly be a spawn of Satan. However..." She suddenly looked a bit pained. "Your father was a very good friend of mine. He told me once that if anything ever happened to him he wanted me to look after you in his place. I made a promise to him, so I won't try to kill you or anything."

"Good." He sheathed both of his swords, causing his blue flames to disappear. "Then we have no issue here." He pulled out two silver supplements from  an inside pocket on his coat and swallowed them. His ears reverted back to normal and his fangs disappeared. He now appeared to be a normal human boy. 

"Not quite." Shura responded. "He's going to come back for you ya know." 

"I'm aware." Rin responded. "I'll be ready when he does." 

"What if he comes back in front of your classmates, what then?" Shura asked. "Have you ever thought about that? I watched you fight. Your skills are great, but you couldn't fight him without using the power from Kurikara. What will happen if he forces you draw out your powers in front of everyone?" 

"Nothing will change." He answered almost immediately. "Understand this, I have a dream, a purpose in life. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that it happens. If I have to use my powers in front of the others and flee so be it. I'd kill them if they became an obstacle."

"Really? Even that Moriyama girl?" Rin didn't respond to that. He just stared at her with his jaded expression. He faced away to leave. 

"Just don't get in my way." He left to return to Shiemi. She smirked as he walked away.

"I'll be seeing you around kid." 

* * *

Shiemi waited patiently for Rin. She sat down there in the courtyard where they had encountered their target with Nee at her side. The small familiar was also sitting down beside her on the bench. Shiemi was starting to become impatient however. Rin had been gone longer than she expected, and she had heard some loud noises off in the distance that worried her. Yet she did not want to get up and leave. She didn't want to leave that spot and have Rin have to go looking for her. She wanted to wait there and for him to return so they could see more of the amusement park together. She still wasn't sure if he would take her back or not.

She hoped he would though. She really wanted to go back, but was too afraid to do it alone. She really wanted him to take her more than anyone. She felt safe around Rin. Not only was he strong, but she truly believed he cared for his classmates, whether he showed it or not. 

"Hi again." A young voice broke her thoughts. She turned to her left, opposite of Nee, and saw that apparition of the young boy once more. "Ready for more?" He asked with a grin.

"Aiyeeee!" Shiemi stood up and screamed. 

"Nee!" Nee cheered as he jumped in front of her. 

"Ah Nee, help!" 

"Nee!" With another cheer he unleashed his power. A large mass of vines and thorns shout out of him and began to wrap around the spirit. He was not making himself able to phase at the moment so he got the full effect of being wrapped in thorns. After a few seconds the attack stopped and the boy fell to ground, bound by a mass of thorns. 

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" He shouted in pain. "That's it, i'm done." With a poof he suddenly vanished. The vines fell to the ground in a puddle of a cyan colored slime. 

"Wh-what happened?" Shiemi asked, shocked that she had just gotten her familiar to do that.

"You beat it." She heard another voice from behind. Rin had finally returned and was making his way towards her. "Your familiar took care of the spirit, so you're the one that defeated it." He explained with his unfeeling tone. 

"R-really?" Her eyes began to light up. Rin nodded. "Ah. Hooray!" She jumped up and cheered.

* * *

At sunset, the students were all gathered at the gates of the park once more. Yukio was holding up a clipboard as he faced his students. They were all standing in the groups they were partnered in, with small spaces in between. "Alright, now I want your reports for today. Team 1?" He faced Rin and Shiemi.

"We did it, we exorcised our target Yuki-sensei." Shiemi informed him.

"It's  report, I want to teach you how to give them for when you need to write them eventually. I need details." Yukio told her.

"Right, um... Well we wandered for awhile and found it crying. I felt bad for it and tried to comfort it. But it um... well it ran away and Rin chased after it."

"So Rin took care of it?" 

"No." Rin answered. "I lost it during a chase. It came back and Shiemi defeated it with her familiar."

"Really?" Yukio looked surprised. "Well done Miss Moriyama." Yukio congratulated her as he wrote something down on his clipboard. 

"Heh, looks like you got beat for once." Izumi smirked from her previously defeated posture. 

"Team 2." Yukio called as he faced them. Ryuji and Izumo were both dirtied, ruffled, and beaten. After they were called they both hung their heads. 

"It got away." They sighed in unison. Yukio wrote something else down on his clipboard. 

"Team 3?" He faced the final team. 

"Renzo went looking for food in the stands and we found it in one of them. Renzo held it back while I recited its fatal verse." Konekomaru reported. 

"Hey, did you have to mention the thing with the food?" Renzo asked feeling embarrassed. 

"Alright, and where is Yamada?" Yukio asked. 

"We dunno." Renzo told him. "He kinda just vanished after we took out the demon. We went around trying to look for him but we couldn't find him anywhere." 

"A missing student? Great." Yukio replied sarcastically. "I'll file a report and we'll notify the authorities. The rest of you head back to the dorm. We're done for today." The students began to disperse to head back to the ground of True Cross Academy. Meanwhile a figure watched overhead. No one noticed as Amaimon looked down from atop a tall building nearby. He looked badly beaten and was clutching his right elbow. 

"Damn you. I'll definitely make you pay for this Okumara."  


	7. Camping Trip

In another world, a man ran behind the wall of an old ruined building and hid. He panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He was Azazel, King of Spirits,and this was supposed to be his domain. It was a very large cave with the ruins of city buildings. It was about as big as one of the wards of Tokyo, and it was his turf. Yet someone had come into his territory, slaughtered his most powerful guards, and was now hunting him down. Whoever it was came with backup. Four men dressed in red robes with a golden symbol of chaos on the back came in and strategically wiped out his guards one by one. They were eventually found but it was too late. The four armed men were using guns loaded with blessed silver bullets. They seemed to be skilled to, highly trained soldiers resembling special forces. Only when they made it to Azazel himself were they defeated. No sooner had he killed the intruders than another came in dressed in the same manner. This one was far tougher. 

He took on Azazel single-handedly and forced him to retreat. Whoever this mystery man was, he wouldn't give up. He gave chase and forced Azazel to phase through several buildings in order to get away. Azazel thought he finally got away. He would take a short breather after receiving that fierce beating before fleeing his own realm. He never thought they day would come when he'd be forced out of his own part of Gehenna. He was one of the Demon Kings, the 5th strongest right above Amaimon. Iblis and Egyn were tied for the position above him, and it was unlikely they'd ever break their millennia old dispute. He wasn't exactly a pushover, he would normally be able to handle himself against most opponents. But not this guy. Whoever he was, he came right into Azezal's territory and forced him out. What's worse was whoever it was, Azazel felt no demonic energy coming from them. They were completely human. 

He was disgusted with the fact that a human was able to defeat him so easily. That man moved unlike anything he had ever seen before. His strength was also far beyond that of any human he had ever met before. He defeated the Demon King using just martial arts. No weapon, no familiar, no fatal verse, just hand to hand combat. This only angered the King of Spirits even further. "Damn he's tough." Azazel cursed quietly, trying to remain unheard. "Never thought anyone could rough me up like this. Guess i'll have to flee for now. Maybe I can hide myself better in Assiah." He began to pant as he rested there. He would find no rest however. A gloved hand ripped through the wall behind him and took hold on the back of his head. Azazel was pulled through the wall and tossed like a rag doll on the other side of the intruder. He slid along the ground a few feet as the wall began to crumble around the hole that was made. Azazel wiped some blood from his mouth before standing back up. He wanted to get a look at his attacker's face but could not.

The robed figure was wearing a grey mask with two opening for the eyes and one for a mouth. The mouth opening was in the shape of a long frown, and the mask was detailed to look like a face of someone that was suffering. Behind the blackness underneath that mask a man stared at the Demon King, unfaltering in his moves and strength. "Damn you." Azazel spat at him hatefully. "You think you can just come into my turf and throw me around like that?" He took a step closer while the other man did not move at all. "I'll show you my true power." With that Azazel's face began to dehumanize, and turn white and transparent. His eyes and mouth both turned black and began to shift to jagged edges. His hands turned ghost like and began to resemble claws. With great speed he attacked the robed man. His fist slammed into the ground as the man suddenly disappeared. Azazel felt his presence a split second later. He was now standing behind the Demon King. Azazel spun and tried to attack him with the other hand. As he spun around though, he received a swift kick to the face. He was sent flying through the hole he was pulled through and flew into the wall of another building. There was an explosion as he made contact with the wall. He sat down there as the masked man slowly made his way back to him. 

Azazel was no longer able to move. He was too badly beaten and injured. He took one last look at his attacker. The man stood over him with his red robe and grey mask with that constant expression of agony. He was also wearing black pants and black shoes. His left hand was normal, but on his right was a glove. It was a large stone gauntlet like glove that was made out of stone. There was an Egyptian cross on the back of it with a red gem in the loop on top. The cuff was thick and stuck out and was covered in gold hieroglyphics. With his gloved hand he reached down and took hold of Azazel by the face. He lifted him high in the air before promptly throwing him headfirst into the ground. Azazel's body went above his head for a brief moment before hitting the ground head first. With that he was totally defeated and his current body useless. The masked man held his gloved hand over the body and pulled a glass jar out from his robe with the other hand. A blue energy began to come from the body and moved in small streams up towards the glove. With his palm up, the an began to collect the blue energy in his palm. It formed into a bright blue ball that levitated in his palm. After this was complete he put it in the jar and closed the lid on it. He held the jar up to his face and eyed it from behind his mask.

"Two down."

* * *

"I have a couple of announcements for today." Yukio spoke up in front of his class."We will have a new teacher joining us today in place of Professor Neuhaus. So please, I would like everyone to welcome Miss Shura Kirigakure." Shura entered in front of the class, no one recognized her besides Rin. He squinted his eyes at her, unsure of why she was now acting as a teacher. The other boys in the class were admiring her. 

"Wow, she sure is hot." Renzo commented with a sheepish grin. 

"As for my second announcement. As a part of of the Exwire exams you will all be going on a 3 day survival trip into the woods near the academy. I've already informed you about this before but I decided to remind you since we depart tomorrow. Miss Kirigakure and I will be accompanying you on this trip. For this trip you will be camping in tents in the woods and you will be put through rugged training exercises every day starting as soon as we arrive. Are there any questions?" 

"Sensei, are you sure it's really safe?" Konekomaru asked with his hand raised. Yukio offered him a warm smile.

"Don't worry Konekomaru, i'm sure nothing bad will happen." 

He had no idea how wrong he would be.

* * *

The following evening the students were all following Yukio and Shura into the woods. The sun was going down and it would be dark soon. Yukio informed them that it would be night when they arrived and that they would be participating in a night time exercise. He refused to say anything more on it until they arrived at the camp grounds. Most everyone was dressed in their school uniform, except for Rin who wore a black trench coat over his uniform. The walk to the grounds was longer than expected. Yukio and Shura were leading them deep within the woods, where they would be unable to leave without the intention too. Though that would not be wise as there were still plenty of demons in the woods. Only the two teachers knew they way to go to avoid them. Anyone else would most certainly be attacked. 

After the sun was down at the moon was in the air, they arrived at a large open clearing in the woods. "We're here." Yukio told them aloud. "Please, give us just a moment." He pulled out two pieces of white chalk and gave one of them to Shura. The two of them quickly got to work at drawing a large protective barrier within the clearing. After a couple of minutes it was finished and the clearing was now protected by a barrier that demons could not enter. "Alright, now that the barrier is up you may all set up your tents. After you are done we will begin your first exercise." The students all dispersed and began setting up their tents. They all had large camping backpacks with them, except for Rin who seemed to be packed lightly. Instead of a tent he simply pulled out a rolled up blue mat and placed it on the ground. He then set his backpack next to it. 

"Rin, is that all you brought?" Shiemi asked. 

"Yes." He answered dryly. "I'm used to sleeping this way." Shiemi frowned at bit and knowing what he meant by that but didn't want to continue. She went back to setting her tent up. After a few minutes all the students had set up the tents they brought and were gathered around Yukio once more. 

"For your first exercise you will be working together as a group." He told his students. "I want you all to travel deeper into the forest and locate a peg lantern that has been placed within the forest. You are to light it and bring it back here without anyone getting injured or killed."

"But Sensei, won't lighting it awaken it?" Konekomaru asked. 

"That's right." Yukio replied. "Peg lanterns remain inactive until lit. After they are lit they will seek to consume anything they can use as fuel. They're favorite source of food is women." Shiemi suddenly looked terrified. "So it will be up to you as a team to subdue the demon and bring it back here. Since you will be working as a team you will once more be graded as a team. So if you fail, you fail together. Which is why i'm going to be giving you this." Yukio pulled a small rocket on a stick and a single match from his coat. "This is a demon repelling rocket. If you get overwhelmed light this and Miss Kirigakure and I will will come to retrieve your team. 

"But why do we only get one match sensei?" Izumo asked. 

"That's because you only have one match to light either the rocket or the lantern, so you had better choose carefully." He told them with a mischievous grin. 

"What?!" Ryuji shouted. Shura laughed. Everyone looked to see her sitting on the ground, her face tinted red and a bottle of beer in her hand. 

"That's right kid, so if you light that rocket and get overwhelmed then you're screwed." She told them with a smile. 

"Hey, why does she get to drink? Isn't this a school trip?" Ryuji demanded. 

"Yes, but she is over the legal age." Yukio responded with a sigh. "This year she'll be twenty-" An empty can suddenly struck him on the head and made him stop.

"Oops, my hand slipped." She told him before laughing. 

"Why you..." Yukio looked rather irritated. A moment later he regained himself and cleared his throat. 

"Ha ha, look I made him mad!" 

"Alright that's enough." He cut her off. "This exercise will require teamwork to survive."

"That's right." Shura agreed. "This forest become infested with low level demons at night. So be careful out there. I certainly don't want to see any of your burning up." She smiled at Rin. He just stared back at her, with everyone unaware that had any meaning to it. 

"Everyone ready, the test begins on my mark." Yuki announced. Everyone went to the edge of the circle, all in a group facing the same direction. 

"Hey Rin?" Shiemi looked up at him.

"Hm?" 

"You're not going to run off on us and do this all yourself are you?" She asked.

"Of course not." He answered. 

"Good." Ryuji added. "If we're gonna be working as a team there's no doubt you'll be our star player Okumara. We won't be able to do this without you." Rin stared blankly at Ryuji, a little surprised to be hearing a compliment for once. 

"Thanks." He replied. 

"Ready..." Yukio aimed one of his guns in the air. With a pull of the trigger he fired a round into the air. "Go!" The pages all took off into the woods.

* * *

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the forest beyond the safe zone they were surrounded by a horde of moths. "Ah, blood sucking moths!" Konekomaru shouted. 

"Probably some type of chuichi." Ryuji noted. Rin drew his Ginkaze and began slashing about. He ran to the front and began to cut up the moths in front of them, then he fell back and cut them to the right. He then jumped over the group and began cutting some to the left. Despite his efforts there were still a large group all around them. 

"I can't take care of them all on my own." Rin told the others. Izumo pulled out two slips of paper.

"I humbly appeal to thee goddess Inari, hear my wishes, let none be unfulfilled." There were two white poofs of smoke as two foxes appeared and began to run with the others.

"You again?" One of them asked in an irritated voice.

"Now is **not** the time!" She shouted down at them. They both gulped. 

"Crap, looks like she's in control again." The other commented. They both obeyed their master and began to attack the moths. 

"Nee, I need some lavender." Shiemi told her familiar. 

"Nee!" The tiny greenman cheered. There was a large bundle of lavender that appeared from his abdomen. All of the moths suddenly began to disperse until there were no more. 

"Woah, what happened?" Renzo asked in amazement.

"Lavender repels moths." Shiemi explained. "As long as the scent is around they shouldn't bother us anymore." 

"Good going Shiemi." Ryuji complimented her with a smile. 

"Thanks." She smiled back. 

After about half an hour of exploring they finally found their target. It was a massive stone lantern that was too big for any one of them to lift, except for Rin perhaps. It also had two circles at each end of one side that seemed to resemble closed eyes.

"Geez, that thing is huge!" Ryjui shouted. 

"Yeah, I can see now why this is a team activity." Konekomaru commented. 

"How are we supposed to bring that thing back with it lit?" Izumo asked. 

"Well, if we place a seal and have someone chanting a verse we should be able to keep it asleep while lit." Konekomaru answered. "We'd also need to keep it constantly fed with those moths we encountered earlier in order for it to stay lit. Plus someone to pull it. Hmm..." He began to think for a moment. "I think I might have a plan to make this work."

A few moments later the lantern was in the back of a wooden cart. Ryuji was behind it chanting a verse while Rin was in front and ready to pull. Shiemi and Konekomaru were riding on it. Shiemi held a flashlight that was currently turned off and Konekomaru was holding a seal on the lantern. "Alright, i'll keep this seal in place while Bon continues to recite the verse." Konekomaru explained. "Shiemi will attract the moths using the flashlight while Renzo and Kamiki will keep the off her. Finally, Rin will be pulling the cart since he is undoubtedly the strongest." 

"Let's go." Rin said with a calm seriousness. Konekomaru lit the match and held it inside the lantern. There was a burst of flames within it as it stayed lit. 

"Nee, i'm going to need you to rid of the lavender now." Shiemi told her familiar.

"Nee!" He retracted the flowers back into his body. Sure enough, a large swarm of moths appeared and Rin took off. The others outside the cart struggled to keep up. 

"Whoa, slow down Rin!" Renzo called ahead a bit. "Geez, how are you so strong?" Rin slowed his pace to allow the others to keep up.

"Yeah, we're doing it!" Konekomaru cheered.

Rin suddenly slid to a stop, causing Ryuji to run headfirst into the back of the lantern. He continued to chant, even though he looked irritated. "Whoa, why are we stopping?" Konekomaru asked. 

"Up ahead." Rin told them. They all looked to see only a few meters away was what looked like a river of bugs with a rickety and unsafe bridge across it. 

"Great, how are we supposed to get across that?" Izumo asked. 

"Uwaaaa!" Renzo screamed. "Look at them all!" He shouted, staring down at the gathering of bugs. "There's so many, I think I might pee my pants." 

"Oh man up, they're just bugs." Izumo told him, annoyed with his phobia of bugs. Ryuji went over and grabbed Renzo's staff as he continued to chant. He made his way to the edge or the river and stuck the end of Renzo's staff in it.

"Ah, what are you doing?!" Renzo shouted in response. 

"Hmm, seems like its pretty shallow." Konekomaru noticed. 

"Does that mean you got a plan?" Izumo asked. Ryuji nodded as he continued chanting. 

"Heina sempna sempna, HIIIIII!" Ryuji suddenly went flying across the river. He landed face first on the other side. "Heina... sempna..." When The others looked to see what caused it they saw Rin standing there with his foot extended. 

"Hey, what's the big i-DEAAAA!" Rin kicked Izumo over next. He then turned to Renzo. 

"No, no, no wait!" He pleaded. Rin did not wait. With another powerful kick he sent Renzo flying and created a pile of three people. He turned to Konekomaru next. 

"Woah, hold on!" He put his hands up.

"Rin!" Shiemi shouted at him. She got his attention and he turned to her instead of having a fourth victim. She looked rather angry for once as she pointed to something towards the rive. Rin looked to see a new bridge had formed. It was made out of vines and was only wide enough for people to cross, not the lantern. Nee was sitting in it. 

"Nee!"

"Oh." Rin replied. Konekomaru crossed first, still shaking from the fear of one of Rin's kicks. He went over to the others as Shiemi crossed behind him. 

"Why didn't you get kicked?" Renzo asked.  He sounded exhausted and in pain. 

"Great, now what about the lantern?" Izumo asked, her tone of voice the same as his. There was a loud thud from behind Konekomaru and Shiemi, who was standing next to him. They all looked to see the peg lantern now on its side next to them. They eyes suddenly shot open on it.

"AIYEEEE!" Shiemi and Izumo screamed together in unison. The lantern instantly noticed its favorite food. Before it could move however, Rin landed on the other side of it and stomped on it with both legs. The lantern had a look of shock as it was hit, followed by tears. 

"Don't even think about it." Rin told the demon. Konekomaru ran over and slapped the seal back on it. They quickly got it back in the cart and returned to their previous positions. 

"Alright, lets try this again." Konekomaru commented. 

"Incoming." Rin looked back. They all turned back to see the silhouette of a large moth appear in the air. A very large chuchi in the form of a moth appeared in the air. 

"Uwaaaa!" Renzo screamed in horror. 

"I got this." Rin stepped in front of them all. He pulled out a piece of paper, creating a summoning circle that he then made a blood sacrifice to. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Fire come and burn all that you must." There was ball of fire than appeared. When it dispersed a very large red salamander was standing in front of Rin.  It was fire red with black spots down its back. Its face looked sunken in and its eyes were black with yellow irises. 

"A salamander!" Konekomaru exclaimed. "I see, he's using a fire based demon against an insect. That's smart." 

"Burn it." Rin commander. The salamander opened its mouth and a stream of fire shot out from it. It aimed straight for the moth and hit it head on. The chuchi let out a cry as it was engulfed in flames. It turned black and soon its body turned into nothing but ash that fell to the ground below. 

"Phew, way to go." Renzo compliment Rin with a relieved sigh. Then suddenly something zipped past Rin and destroyed the paper he was holding. A small rock hit the ground on the other side of it. There was another ball of fire as the salamander was released. Rin looked up to where it came from. Then everyone was staring at a man standing on top of a tree branch.

"Bullseye." Amaimon commented. He made a finger pistol that he held up to his mouth and blew on the would be barrel. 


	8. Rin's Dream

"You again?" Rin asked, giving Amaimon a rather irritated look. 

"Hey, you know this guy?" Ryuji asked.

"Amaimon, Demon King of Earth." Rin told him. Ryuji suddenly looked very surprised. 

"Hold up, you mean this guy is one of the eight Demon Kings?" He repeated in shock. 

"Oh man, there's no way we could beat this guy." Konekomaru said fearfully. 

"That' right, there's no way." Amaimon agreed in a mocking tone. He jumped down to the ground and all the students but Rin took a step back.

"You're starting to become a pain in my ass." Rin told the Demon King rather casually. 

"Hmm, well I couldn't exactly let you get away with beating me so bad last time." 

"Last time..." Ryuji repeated softly. "Wait a second, Okumara did you beat this guy before?" 

"Yeah." Rin answered, not taking his eyes off his target. Ryuji stared at his classmate it shock.

_Geez, just how strong is this guy?_ He thought to himself. 

"You guys take the peg lantern back." Rin ordered. "I'll take care of this guy." He drew out his Ginkaze sword. 

"Are you serious? He'll kill you!" Izumo protested. 

"Yeah, if this guys wants a fight we should fight him together." Ryuji agreed. 

"I wasn't asking for your help." Rin interjected. He turned his head to look back at them. "You'll only get in my way." 

"Are you really doing this now of all times?" Ryuji shouted in irritation. 

"Rin." Shiemi went over and tugged on his sleeve. "Please don't do this alone. We don't want you to get hurt fighting someone this strong." She pleaded. "Please, please let us help you." Rin stared down at her, giving her a pained look. There was a suddenly gust of wind an Amaimon was right in front of them. "Aiyeeee!" He grabbed Shiemi and lifted her up over his shoulder before jumping back up to the same branch. 

"Do you care for this girl?" Amaimon asked coldly. "Shall I rip out her eyes? Or perhaps feed her to my subordinates?" Rin glared up at the Demon King. His grip tightened on Ginkaze. "Well, what's it going to be?"

"Hmph." Rin casually tossed his sword straight up in the air. It spun vertically in circles a few times before falling down in the same manner. Before it could hit the ground, Rin lifted his foot and kicked it on the hilt. The sword went flying straight for Amaimon. He was forced to drop Shiemi in order to dodge the attack, taking a step to the side to get out of the way. Shiemi fell to the ground below and the sword spun past Amaimon. In a flash Rin was there in the air and grabbed his sword again. He spun himself upside down and slashed at Amaimon, managing to leave a cut across his chest. Amaimon yelled in pain as he slashed. Rin landed on his feet on the ground below. Meanwhile, Shiemi was rubbing her bottom as she got back to her feet. 

"Thank you Rin." She thanked him with a smile. 

"YOU BRAT!" Amaimon screamed. With blinding speed and incredible strength he tried to attack Rin. Rin was just barely able to grab Shiemi and pull her out of the way of the attack. There was an explosion where Amaimon struck the ground. Rin set Shiemi back on her feet, only to have Amaimon upon him once more. Rin was hit with a powerful kick that sent him flying into a tree. Rin hit it hard and fell face first against the ground. He was surprisingly quick to get back on his feet after receiving such a blow. Amaimon glared at him while gritting his teeth. "Now look, you've gone and made me lose my temper. How rude!" 

"Crap, Rin won't last long against a guy like that." Konekomaru commented. 

"Yeah." Ryuji agreed while looking nervous. "Anyone have any idea where his fatal verse might be?"

"The book of Mark." Amaimon turned his head and casually responded to the young boy. 

"What?! Why the hell are you just giving that information away?!" Ryuji demanded in an irritated confusion. 

"Because it _is_ the book of Mark." Amaimon told him. "Us Demon Lords are far more powerful than the lower level demons below us, and the rule is the stronger the demon the longer its fatal verse. For some high level demons it could be multiple verses. Use Demon Kings however, well ours our whole books. So unless you've got the whole book of Mark memorized i'm not going anywhere, and even if you do i'll just shut you up before you can finish it." 

"Damn, so much for that plan." Ryuji replied. Amaimon turned his attention back to Rin who stood there with a serious look and his sword ready. 

"You know you have the power to face me, and you know what you have to do to do it don't you?" Amaimon taunted. Rin glared back at him. "But you won't do that here will you? Oh well, too bad." He raised his hand and curved his fingers in like a claw. He went in for the attack and slashed right at Rin. 

"Look out!" Izumo cried out. Amaimon was amazingly fast and was upon Rin in the blink of an eye. His attack made contact but did not hit Rin. Blue flames suddenly emerged and Amaimon's attack was blocked with the flat side of Kurikara. Amaimon looked shocked for a moment before backing off and gaining some distance. 

"Really? Just like that?" He asked sounding surprised. Rin's classmates all just stared at him as he was surrounded by an aura of blue flames. 

"Okumara... he's..." Konekomaru tried to say it.

"Yeah... he's a demon." Ryuji squinted his eyes in anger.

"Listen to me and listen close." Rin told the Demon King. "I don't know what you take me for but don't you ever underestimate me. I've spent the last five years of my life training, preparing myself, and perfecting my skills. I have far more power that you could have predicted, power that i've grown and developed. Since you insist on getting in my way I have no choice but to annihilate you." Rin began to ball blue flames together in his right hand. Amaimon smiled, thinking Rin could not hurt him. 

"Ha! Give it your best shot!" He mocked, holding his arms out as a signal for Rin to try it. Rin took aim. 

"Hellfire missile." The ball of blue flames shot out of his hand like a missile, just as the name suggested. When it hit Amaimon it exploded like one too. A large explosion of blue flames engulfed Amaimon before the force of it sent him flying backwards. He smashed through several trees from the force of it. The other students were all frozen after that. Rin's true power turned out to be far greater than they could have ever imagined. It terrified them. They all stared at him in fear as he had his back turned to them. His attention was focused on where Amaimon landed. "You should all get out of here." He told them. "You'll only get in the way." They needed no further encouragement. The group of them ran together back towards the camp.

* * *

Back at the camp, Yuko and Shura were both sitting around a campfire. Shura was still drunk, and on her fifth beer. Yukio was staring at the campfire, a look of deep thought on his face. It had been quiet ever since the students left. "Hey, Miss Kirigakure..." Yukio tried to start up a conversation.

"Hey, we're both adults here. Call me Shura... at least when the kids aren't around anyway. Ha!" She took another sip from her can. 

"Right. Why didn't you report Rin to the Vatican?" Yukio asked. 

"I got my reasons." She replied with a drunken smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Because i'm curious. You told me the Vatican sent you here to spy on Rin. So when you found out he was the son of Satan why didn't you report him? Defying such a order is putting your own life on the line, and for someone you never met nonetheless. So why?" Yukio's asked, his tone filled with melancholy. Shura let out a sigh.

"If you really want to know it's because I owe your old man." She answered. Yukio turned to her with a look of surprise on his face. "Yeah, that's right. Your father saved me from a dark place and helped me become who I am today. He told me that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted me to look after you guys in his place. That's why I didn't report Rin to the higher ups. I owe your father more than them." She took another sip of beer. "That is of course unless he lights up in front of the wrong person. Then I won't really have a choice in the matter." She told him with a slight grin. 

"Well I don't think we have to worry about that." Yukio replied, looking back at the fire. "Rin's much smarter than he was five years ago. I doubt he'd actually use his pwoers in front of anyone." 

Then as if on cue, there was the sound of an explosion behind them. They bother turned to it to see a blue hue fade from the horizon over the trees. It was shortly followed by another explosion where blue could be seen again. "You've got to be kidding me!" Yukio shouted in disbelief as he stood up.

"Well, so much for that theory." Shura commented. She finished off her can of beer before standing back up. There was a series of smaller explosions in the distance followed by short flashes of blue. The two exorcists head someone approaching. Yukio pulled out one of his guns in preparation. He and Shura looked towards the direction it was coming from to see most of the students running full speed back to the campsite. Only Rin was missing from them. They only stopped after they crossed the barrier into the safe zone. Then they all stopped and panted as they were out of breath. 

"What happened?" Yukio asked them sternly. 

"It's Okumara." Ryuji replied. "He's... he's a demon or something." He told them between heavy exhausted breaths.

"Or something is more like it." Izumo commented. 

"He drew his other sword, that one he never draws. Then all of the sudden he was surrounded by blue flames and got a lot stronger." Renzo added. 

"Why did he draw it?" Yukio asked them. "He's usually strong enough to handle himself, what made him draw both swords?" 

"Well..." Renzo tried to begin. He was cut off when Yukio's answer came flying face first into the barrier. Amaimon was stopped in mid air by the protective barrier and was held in air there while it seemed like the barrier was electrocuting him. Light blue sparks crossed all over him and he began to shout in pain from it. Everyone inside stared in shock.

"Him again?!" Shura shouted.

"That's..." Yukio tried to say but was in shock. "That's Amaimon, one of the Demon Kings of Gehenna." 

Rin then joined them. He suddenly appeared at the ground below Amaimon's feet and took hold of one of his ankles. Rin threw Amaimon into the trees nearby, causing another small explosion as a few trees were destroyed from the force of the impact. When the dust cleared Amaimon was in a sitting position against the stump from a fallen tree. "Damn you!" He yelled at Rin. Amaimon slapped the ground next to him and a large bulge of dirt sailed across the ground for Rin. When it got close it formed into a giant fist that tried to punch Rin. Rin jumped over it and landed in front of Amaimon. He grabbed the Demon King by the back of the head and slammed his knee into Amaimon's face. Amaimon recoiled from the impact and Rin took a hold of the hair spike on top of his head. He threw Amaimon again into another bunch of trees with the same result. Meanwhile inside the barrier, Ryuji gritted his teeth and balled his fists.

"That guy..." Ryuji said in anger. "He's one of the eight Demon Kings, the strongest of them besides Satan, and Okumara's just throwing him around like a rag doll." The others inside the barrier all stared at Rin. What Ryuji said was right, he was taking on a Demon King as if it was nothing. To him it was just another opponent. Amaimon was struggling to get back to his feet, shooting Rin a very angry look. Rin just stared back with his calm and collected expression. 

"I'm done playing games here." Amaimon finally decided. He held out his hands to each side and caused clumps of dirt to spiral around him. Rin decided to finish it before Amimon could use his full powers. In a flash Rin went in and stabbed Amaimon with Kurikara. It penetrated through Amaimon's stomach and went all the way through him. Amaimon coughed up blood as he was ran though. The dirt previously circling him fell to the ground in clumps. Rin drew his sword back out and then sent a very quick kick into Amaimon's abdomen that sent him flying back. Amaimon landed face down against the earth, bloodied and defeated. The exorcists all stared in awe from the safety of the barrier while a figure watched the battle play out overhead.

"Wunderbar!" Mephisto exclaimed to himself. "You did much better than I could have ever dreamed Rin Okumara. Well now, I suppose it's time to end this." He pulled off his hat and began to tap it with a wand. "Eins, zwei-" Before he could count to drei, Rin made one last attack. He jumped on top of Amaimon and plunged Kurikara through the back of his neck and into the ground. Amaimon made one last weak noise of pain before his head fell down and he stopped moving. Mephisto froze and stared down at the scene. "Oh mein, I was not expecting that." Rin pulled his sword out from Amaimon and sheathed both swords. He then turned and looked up at Mephisto.

"Was this your doing?" He shouted up. The students all looked to see who he was talking to. All of them say Mephisto floating there in his chair. 

"The chairman?!" Ryuji said in disbelief. 

"Perhaps." Mephisto answered, sitting back in his chair. "I thought of this as a way to test your true powers. I have to say I never though you'd preform so well."

"You're starting to piss me off." Rin told him with a glare. There was a few clicks behind him and Rin turned back to see what the sound was. Standing behind him now in the clearing was ten exorcists, plus one other man with long blonde hair standing in the middle of them all. He had very long blonde hair that was tied up in a ponytail, and he was holding the pommel of a wide sword that's blade was against the ground. He was dressed in exorcist gear that was white with gold trim. 

"Greetings Rin Okumara." The man greeted Rin with a smile.

"Oh crap." Shura said as she knew exactly who that was. 

"Miss Kirigakure, it seems as if you didn't do your job like we asked." He commented to Shura as he noticed her. 

"Hey kid, get out of there!" Shura yelled over to Rin. "That guy's the Paladin, the most powerful exorcist at the Vatican's disposal." Rin's eyes narrowed at the blonde man standing in the center of the group. 

"That's right, my name is Arthur A. Angel, and i'm here to bring you into custody." Arthur responded with a smile. "Now, if you'll be so polite as to surrender so that we may take you back to Vatican City and hold your trial." Rin stared back at him silently for a moment.

"Alright." He replied as he put his hands up to surrender. 

"That's a good demon." With two fingers Arthur motioned to Rin. An exorcist holding an MP5 submachine gun moved in towards Rin. They both eyed each other carefully as the exorcist moved in with his gun held up. 

"Don't move." He ordered Rin. Rin didn't respond, instead watching silently as the exorcist drew closer. The exorcist was now only inches away. He quickly switched his grip on his weapon and tried to hit Rin with the butt of the retractable stock. Rin's head moved to the side to dodge the attack. With on hand he took hold of the gun and with the other he grabbed the wrist of the exorcist. He kicked the man off balance and threw him. The exorcist let go of his weapon as it was thrown and Rin was now holding the gun. The man he threw went flying and hit his back against a tree. He fell down the ground unconscious. 

Another exorcist wielding a cutlass sword moved in towards Rin. Rin drew Kurikara with his right and with his left he held the gun by the top. He used the gun to block an incoming horizontal attack. He then slashed through the blade of the other sword. The exorcist watched in shock as his own weapon was cut apart by another sword. Rin then hit the man in the side of the head with the butt of Kurikara and rendered him unconscious as well. Rin then aimed the MP5 at the other exorcists. Most of them looked scared while Arthur kept up his smile. Rin fired and hit the legs of three exorcists. He strategically took out the two tamers of the group, identifying them by the paper they were holding. He also took out an unarmed one, which he identified as an Aria. He didn't know if he had a fatal verse or not but he wasn't willing to risk it. He was aiming to disable Arthur too but he jumped into the air. He drew his demon sword Caliburn above his head.

"Wrong move!" He taunted as he came back down with a powerful overhead attack. Rin casually tossed the gun to the ground and stepped to the side to avoid the attack. He tossed Kurikara into his left hand and with his right he grabbed Arthur's face. The flames on his hand intensified. "YEAAAA!" Arthur shouted in pain. He made a large clumsy swing in an attempt to get Rin off. Rin jumped high and did a mid-air cartwheel to avoid the attack. He landed on the ground a bit more to the left of Arthur while he fell to the ground and clutched his face in pain. 

"Sir Angel!" Another exorcist with short spiky brown hair shouted out. He rushed in with a halberd and aimed it to spear Rin. He gave a strong thrust as he shoved the spear end up top towards his opponent. Rin let Kurikara fall from his hand and stab into the ground. He side stepped the attack and grabbed the weapon's shaft just below the metal blade. Rin lifted the weapon up along with the man who was still holding up. Rin brought the weapon up straight into the air, then slammed it to the ground. The exorcist who was previously using it was also knocked out and lay there defeated. Two more rushed in, one with a naginata and the other with a sword resembling a katana without a hand guard. The man with the naginta attempted to strike Rin in the same manner the last exorcist had. Rin was quicker and before the attack could connect Rin struck him in the thigh with a powerful attack. The man was sent flying off and Rin spun around with the halberd. The other man with the sword raised it above his head and was going to slash down. Rin stabbed him through the shoulder with the spear part of his weapon. The second exorcist cried out in pain and fell down. 

The two left were women, and one opened fire with a Makarov pistol. Rin used his speed to evade the attack, but she kept firing as he ran in a circle around them. He pulled out Ginkaze and prepared to make a move. When she had to reload he went in. Right as she put the second magazine in the gun Rin grabbed the hand she was firing with. She let go of the gun and Rin gave her hand a suddenly violent twist. There was an audible snap as he wrist was broken and she fell to her knees in pain. The  second went in with a pair of Katar, Indian fist daggers. She threw a quick left-right punch combo that Rin stepped back from and easily dodged. She then jumped in the air and went for a spinning back kick. Rin ducked as her heel went over his head and she landed with her back to him. She tried to hit him with her right elbow but Rin caught the attack and grabbed her behind her elbow. He kicked in the back of her shin and threw her. She skidded along the ground and hit her head on a small boulder, also taking her out. 

Arthur was back in the battle now and lunged at Rin with a violent attack. "You damn filthy demon!" Arthur shouted. He slashed downwards and the boy suddenly disappeared in a small burst of blue flames. Arthur turned around to see him now pulling Kurikara out of the ground and once more dual wielding his swords. "How dare you lay your disgusting hands on me!" Arthur lunged at Rin with speed to rival him. He slashed horizontally and Rin ducked under it. He spun and tired to slash Arthur with the momentum of his speed. Arthur continued on his own spin and blocked Rin's attack. The two of them locked like that. "You filthy creature." Arthur spat hatefully. "You're nothing more than a monster!" He turned his body and with it broke the lock that they were in. He spun once more and this time attempted to hit Rin with the pommel of his sword. Rin stepped back and slashed overhead. Arthur moved the direction of the attack and blocked Rin's attack with the handle of his sword. They both tried to kick each other and both stumbled back from the other's attack. "Zodiac slash!" Arthur made a horizontal slash with his sword and sent out a thin wave of yellow energy that sailed through the air at Rin. Rin ran directly at it. When it got close he jumped over the attack and sailed overhead towards Arthur. He slashed downwards with Ginkaze and Arthur blocked it with his own sword. Rin then backflipped and landed a short distance away from Arthur. The Paladin then made another horizontal slash. Rin dodged this time by ducking to the left with the direction of the attack. He then used Kurikara in his right and stabbed the Paladin through his shoulder while evading. 

Arthur let out a howl of pain and clutched his shoulder. Rin lifted up his right leg and delivered a powerful axe kick to the head of the Paladin. Arthur's eyes rolled back for a moment as he was sent to the ground. He managed to lift himself up a bit with his hands. "Damn you." He cursed. Rin jumped over him and held a sword out to each side. He landed at Arthur's feet and stabbed though both of his Achilles heels. Arthout shouted out in pain once more, and when Rin withdrew his swords he fell to his side. He was in a great deal of pain and was now incapacitated along with his whole team. 

"Rin..." Yukio said with disbelief. "He... he took out a whole squad straight from the Vatican." Rin was now standing over the defeated Paladin. 

"I could kill you." Rin told his opponent. "But I won't. You and I have a common enemy, so I will allow you to live as a possible ally to help me fix this world." 

"Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?" Arthur asked with a hateful look. "How's a demon like you going to fix anything, especially the world? Huh?!" 

"Would you really like to know?" Rin asked stoically. 

"Yes, i'd love to hear how you think you could help anyone." 

"My whole reason for joining True Cross was to learn more about exorcism so that I could one day defeat Satan. But it seems this school has nothing it can teach me anymore." 

"Hey! Didn't you say it was stupid when it was _my_ dream?!" Ryuji shouted in irritation. 

"Yes." Rin looked at him now. "Because you wanted to beat up Satan. That is too small for me." He looked back down at Arthur. "I'm going to use the forbidden technique to kill Satan and remove him from existence. With him gone I will take his place of ruler of Gehenna as his son. After I take over I will bend Gehenna to my whim. Demon's will no longer be allowed in Assiah, and any demon who would defy me will be killed. After the submit to me the evil of Gehenna will no longer enter this realm, and I can finally begin to unravel this cruel twisted world." Arthur stared up at him with a look of complete disbelief. The others inside of the barrier were all staring with the exact same look. 

All of them were in a stunned silence as Rin showed his true colors.


	9. You reap what you sow

They were all in stunned silence after Rin made his declaration. "Are you insane?" Arthur asked quieter than usual. "Do you really think that's ever going to work?!" He then shouted. 

"Perhaps." Rin replied in a dull tone. "But that is my dream, and my purpose in the world is to remove Satan. You can help me or not just don't get in my way." Rin began to walk past him to leave.

_Bang!_

There was a loud gunshot and a bullet zipped past Rin's face and landed in a tree to his side. Rin stopped and turned towards the direction the bullet was shot from. Yukio was standing outside of the barrier now, one of his pistols was smoking and aimed at Rin. 

"I can't let you do this Rin." Yukio told his brother. "I can't let you go risking your life on this. What your planning is crazy, you'll die before that ever happens." Rin turned towards his brother. 

"Is that supposed to be joke?" He sneered. "You? Caring about me? You didn't care about me five years ago, why should I believe that anything changed?"

"Rin i'm sorry!" Yukio shouted back quickly. "I'm sorry for pointing a gun at you back then, i'm sorry for abandoning you and leaving you to grow up the way you did. I feel awful about that and I have for the past few years. I do care about you and I don't want to see you throwing away your life like this."

"Tch. Throwing it away?" Rin mocked. "My life never had any value to begin with, you showed me that. Now you can stop this and turn away like always or you can keep this up and i'll deal with you just like anyone who gets in my way." Yukio glared down his sights.

"I won't let you do this." He calmly declared.

"So, you finally have the guts to actually shoot me for once?" Rin asked. "It's about time." There was a brief silence. "This has been coming for a long time now."

"It didn't have to be like this." Yukio replied.

"No, it had to end up like this." Rin rushed in and Yukio fired. Rin tilted his head and dodged the bullet as it zipped by. He was so fast that Yukio did not get time to fire a second round. Rin was already upon him and sent out a side kick. His attack was blocked by Shura's sword. Rin kicked off it and gained some distance. 

"Shura, what are you doing?" Yukio asked in surprise. 

"I can't let you take him on all by yourself." She answered. "I hope you know you're in for one hell of a fight. This guy took out a Demon King, a squad of elite exorcists, and the Paladin."

"Yeah, I noticed." Yukio responded as he drew his second gun. Shura pointed sword at Rin.

"Absolute emptiness!" A group of transparent snakes formed out of Shura's sword and went for Rin. He tried to block but they ended up passing through him. His blue flames disappeared and he seemed to return to human form. "That's the power of my demon sword!" Shura shouted as she rushed in at Rin. "It dissolves demonic energy and leaves the target vulnerable!" She lunged and sent her sword to jab straight for Rin. He spun and got out of the way of the attack. Shura passed behind him and as he turned he delivered a swift elbow to the side of her head. She tumbled and rolled sideways, quickly managing to get back to her feet as some blood ran down the side of her head.

"I have been practicing nonstop for the past five years. My physical abilities are enough to deal with you." Rin told her. His blue flames then returned, shooting out in a short burst before dulling down to normal. "Hmm, seems that didn't last very long." Rin quickly turned his attention away from her as Yukio fired. Rin spun Kurikara and deflected the bullet. 

"Enough Rin!" Yukio shouted. "I don't want to do this!" Rin gritted his teeth. 

"Will you just SHUT UP ALREADY!?!" He yelled before rushing it at Yukio. Rin slashed overhead and Yukio dodged it by taking a step back. Rin then slashed with both swords sideways which Yukio dodged in the same manner. "You're the one who told me to go die all those years ago!" He made two swift diagonal cuts with each sword. Yukio used his pistols to block them but was just barely able to. "You abandoned me!" Rin jumped and did a half spin, sending a quick kick into Yukio with the sole of his foot. Yukio flew back and rolled along the ground. He got back to his feet as quick as he could. Rin stood where he was and glared at him. "You made your decision back then, and now you can live with it."

"Rin, I was ten!" Yukio defended. 

"So was I, that sure didn't stop you though." Rin responded with a glare. "You abandoned me and left me on the streets, now you want my forgiveness? Here I thought you were supposed to be the more mature one." Rin stopped his banter when a fist struck him in the side of the face. Rin was sent off his feet and did a cartwheel in air, landing on feet and facing Ryuji, who had just punched him. 

"I can only listen to you spew so much crap." Ryuji said with an angered look. "Just listen to yourself! Acting like your brother isn't sorry for what he did and that you're all alone. Well what the hell about us? We've been your classmates for the past few months, doesn't that mean anything?!"

"No, it doesn't." Rin answered without any thought. Ryuji gritted his teeth again.

"Alright, if that's the way you feel fine! I'll stop you with them!" He declared, pointing at Rin.

"So be it." Rin went for Ryuji who was too slow to react. He was only saved when Shura rushed in a swung at Rin. He had to flip away from her attack, but ended up kicking her in the face as he did so. Her head snapped back and she clutched her face in pain. 

"Gah, what the hell do you think you're doing kid?" She asked Ryuji in an irritated voice. "He's too strong for you, get back in the barrier."

"Yeah, get out of there Bon!" Konekomaru agreed. 

"Fine." Ryuji ran back inside the protective barrier. "I'll just help from back here."

"What? Do you think he even has a fatal verse?" Konekomaru asked. 

"I don't know. But it's worth a shot. I'll just have to recite all that i've memorized so far and hope for the best." Ryuji closed his eyes and began reciting the Bible from the very beginning. Rin began casually walking over to the barrier. 

_What's he doing?_ Yukio thought as he watched Rin walk over to the barrier. He stopped just outside it as Ryuji was just on the other side, reciting as many verses as he could. Rin sheathed both of his swords and the flames around him disappeared. After they were gone he took another step forward and crossed the barrier. He was now standing right in front of a very surprised Ryuji. Rin grabbed hold of him by the throat and Ryuji made a hacking sound. Rin swept his feet out from behind slammed Ryuji to the ground. After Rin let go Ryuji began to cough and hack as he tried to breathe properly again. 

"Didn't you notice I crossed the barrier before when we left to find the lantern? That barrier doesn't work on me when i'm in my normal form, and i'm still strong enough to deal with all of you." He turned and began to walk away but stopped right on the edge of the barrier. "But just so you don't get any ideas." Rin stomped on the edge of the seal on the ground and smothered it with his foot. With that action the barrier was broken and would no longer protect them from any sort of demons. Rin drew both of his swords again and walked closer to the two trained exorcists. They stood a few feet apart and readied for the fight to continue. 

"So what?!" Ryuji shouted, his voice returned and he managed to sit upright. "You think just because I can't hide behind a shield I won't stand up to you?!" He now got to his feet. "I don't care how powerful you are, i'm not just going to sit by and do nothing. I will stop you!" 

"Is that right?" Rin asked as he turned slightly and stared at Ryuji. Ryuji glared back at him in anger. 

"Bon's right!" Konekomaru agreed. "We can't just stand by and do nothing, i'll help too." 

"I'm not much of a fighter, but i'll do what I can." Renzo replied as he stepped forward with his staff and rings. 

"I humbly appeal to thee oh Goddess Inari. Hear my wishes, let none be unfulfilled." Izumo chanted and brought her fox familiars forth. She joined the line of the Pages ready to stand up against Rin.

"Um... I don't... I don't know if I can do this..." Shiemi stammered. 

"Shiemi!" Ryuji suddenly shouted. She jumped a bit in shock. He turned his head and grinned at her. "If you feel like you can't do this no one will blame you. This took a lot of courage, and you're closer to Rin that any one of us."

"Yeah, we can't ask you to turn on your friend like that." Renzo agreed, smiling as well. 

"I..." She was so surprised to see their understanding. "Thank you." She ran away and hid behind a tree just outside of the clearing. The exorcists all circled Rin, all ready for battle. His eyes darted around, trying to formulate a strategy. 

"So, what's it going to be Rin?" Yukio asked. "I'll give you once last chance to stop all of this and come back to us." Rin's focus now moved to Yukio, and although he looked collected Yukio could see the hate in his eyes. 

"Tch." Was Rin's response. He crossed both arms across his chest. "All consuming flame." He uncrossed his arms and held them out to each side. A large dome of flames surrounded him and expanded with great speed. The surrounding exorcists were all caught in the attack and launched backwards as the flames shot out. Rin's attack ended up covering a 20 meter long diameter. Shiemi shook in fear behind the tree she was hiding behind. 

"Wow, he's real scary when he's like this." She noted. Rin took out a slip of paper and began going through the process of summoning a familiar. 

"From blood of crimson red, I hereby summon you back from the dead." There was a gust of wind in a circle in front of Rin and his Tetsunochi was once more brought into Assiah. He looked around the forest. 

"Hmm, where are we now?" He asked in mild confusion. 

"A forest outside of the academy ground." Rin replied. Tetsunochi observed a bit more and saw the other exorcists starting to get back up. He noticed they were in a circle around the two of them and seemed to be moving in. He also just then noticed Rin's aura of blue flames. 

"Oh, did they find out?" He asked with an excited voice. "Are you going to turn on the people who used to be your friends?" 

"I never had friends." Rin replied dully. "You take care of the pages, leave the two trained ones to me."

"Really? Even the girl you had me help before?"

"No." Rin replied. "She's decided to stay out of this, so let her be." 

"Hm, fair enough." Tetsunochi responded as he drew his own sword. 

" **Demon whirlwind!** " They both shouted in unison. They took off with their attacks in different directions, Rin's was now blue with his flames. Tetsunochi went right for the younger exorcists and passed between Ryuji and Izumo, who were just barely able to turn to dodge the attack. Rin went for Yukio who ducked sideways much like Rin had against Arthur. Rin sailed over him and landed a short distance behind. Shura came at Rin with an attack. Rin blocked it with Ginkaze and then quickly countered with Kurikara. Shura jumped back and Yukio began to open fire. Rin was able to swiftly deflect all his bullets with both swords. Rin then rushed in to attack Yukio, bringing both swords down overhead. Yukio rolled to the side to get out of the way. He then took off while firing and Rin gave chase. The two of them disappeared into the forest with Shura following behind. 

* * *

Meanwhile, the pages had their hand's full with Rin's familiar. Tetsunochi did a another Demon Whirlwind and went for Konekomaru. Konekomaru dropped down against the ground and the attack passed over him. The warlord landed against a tree and kicked off, flipping through the air and landing on the ground below. "He's fast." Konekomaru noted before picking himself up from the ground. Izumo's foxes flew through the air and passed through each side of Tetsunochi. Green dust exploded from him and he doubled over in pain. 

"Woah, can't let myself get hit by that again." He commented. 

"Wow, what was that?" Renzo asked. 

"It's the ability of my familiars." Izumo explained. "They're capable of doing much more damaged against the undead. Since he was a human who's now trapped as a demon he counts as undead is weaker against my foxes." 

"Well if that's the case, i'm willing to be his fatal verse is somewhere in the book of John too." Ryuji theorized. 

"It's worth a shot." Konekomaru stated. "Do you have the whole book memorized Bon?"

"No, only a little over the first half."

"Well I have the second half pretty well memorized. You work from the beginning and i'll work backwards and i'm sure we'll find it eventually." 

"Right." Ryuji agreed with a nod. They two of them closed their eyes and began to focus as they recited verses. 

"Oh no you don't!" Tetsunochi yelled before coming at the two of them with another Demon Whirlwind. 

"Look out!" Renzo jumped in the way and blocked the attack with his staff. It was struck by Tetsunochi's sword.

"Why you!" Tetsunochi flipped himself forward in air and brought the heel of the foot up and kicked Renzo in the head. Renzo crashed to the ground below and Tetsunochi landed on his feet. He raised his sword up and prepared to deliver the death blow. Before he could however, one of Izumo's foxes passed through his arms and there was another green dust explosion. Tetsunochi lost control of his arm past the elbow and it hung limp with the fingers still curled around his sword. 

"Yeoww!" He cried. The second fox went for his legs but he jumped and flipped over them. He landed in front of Izumo and tried to slash at her with his limp sword. She manged to back out of the way to protect herself, but he ended up cutting through her summoning papers. The two foxes vanished in two poofs of white smoke. The old warlord then spun and caught Izumo with a backhand. His fist slammed into her and sent her flying off a short distance. He panted as he was out of breath. 

"But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well." Ryuji recited.

"Noooooo!" Tetsunochi suddenly seemed to distort then vanished in a large poof of green dust that fell to the earth. After it was over he rushed over to Renzo and Konekomaru to Izumo.

"Hey, you alright" Ryuji asked his face down friend. 

"Yeah, peachy." Renzo replied with a smile and a dazed looked. Ryuji helped him to his feet. 

"Are you alright Miss Kamiki?" Konekomaru asked as he ran over to her. She was sitting upright and manged to get herself back on her own feet. 

"I'm fine." She replied a bit standoffish.

"Come on, we need to help Professor Okumara and Kirigakure." Ryuji told them. The group of pages then took off in the same direction the others did earlier.

* * *

Yukio was running through the trees and brush of the forest, maneuvering between trees as he fired at Rin. Rin was jumping from tree to tree, launching himself off them as he chased down Yukio and evaded his attacks. He did another Demon Whirlwind and smashed through a couple trees as he moved in on Yukio. Yukio jumped and launched himself off a tree as well, going over Rin's attack. Shura now caught up and went to attack Rin. She slashed sideways and cut through a tree that he was on. Rin jumped from it and landed behind her. Yukio disappeared into some brush. 

Shura rolled backwards and stood up right in front of Rin, this time coming at him with an upwards slash. Rin stepped back to dodge it and did the same when she alshed again horizontally. She then spun and went for another horizontal attack. Rin jumped above it and spun himself, delivering a swift heel kick to her face. She fell backwards and rolled with it again. Shura wiped the blood from her nose and held her sword back up.

"Shura!" She heard Yukio shout. She turned her head to see him in a clearing behind her. He motioned for her to come over. Shura turned way from Rin and ran over to Yukio. There was a lake in the center of the clearing and Yukio was on the other side. She began to run around it as quick as she could. 

"Yeah, what did you want?" She asked as she came over. Before Yukio could give her an answer, Rin launched himself as quick as a flash over the lake. He almost seemed to be flying he moved so fast. He crossed the lake and went right for Yukio. When he got halfway across the lake however he suddenly stopped and was surrounded by a ball of water. Several women like figures began to rise from the water with their arms outstretched towards the sphere Rin was encased in. They held him there as they stood around Rin in a circle. 

"I'm not much of a summoner, but I was eventually able to summon a few Water Naiads to set a trap." Yukio told her. Shura smirked. 

"That as a smart plan." She complimented him. "So what do we do now?" Yukio let out a sigh.

"I don't think he's willing to listen to reason anymore." He replied with a heavy heart as he stared downwards. "Do with him what you have to." 

"Right." Shura agreed. She could tell Yukio was not happy with this decision. She wanted to help Rin too, but based on his previous actions she could tell that was out of the question. Rin heard the whole thing while trapped insdie the Water Naiad's prison. He pulled out his notepad and noticed the circle for Tetsunochi was faded, a sign that he was defeated. Rin tore the paper and tossed it aside. He began to draw another more intricate one. 

"What's he doing?" Yukio asked as he watched Rin try to summon a familiar once more. Rin cut his finger with Ginkaze and made the blood offering. 

"Hear me creature of the cold and icy black, most fowl from the dark depths, come forth and share with me your power. I summon thee, terror of the sevens seas." There was a bubbling in the lake under Rin.Then something suddenly burst out from it and sent the Water Naiads flying, dispelling the as they hit various objects. A massive white sea serpent with the head of a dragon appeared from the lake. It was so large that only a small part of it was within the lake. Most of it was outside, it's massive head high in the air with Rin standing up on it. Down below, Yukio and Shura stared up frozen in shock and fear. 

"No way..." Yukio managed to say. "That's... Leviathan, son of Egyn."

The students weren't far away and they could all see Leviathan's head above the trees. "Holy crap, what is that?!" Ryuji shouted. Leviathan let out a massive roar and slapped the lake with its tail. A massive circular wall of water shot out around it, far more than what was already in the lake. It then went outwards in all directions. Yukio and Shura were unable to avoid the incoming wall of water and were swept away with it. The nearby students soon found themselves unable to escape the same fate. "RUN!" Ryuji shouted as they all turned around and tried to high tail it out of there. They too were unable to avoid the incoming wall of water and it soon took them as well. The massive wall of water took them all with it and soon began to lose momentum. Back by the campground Shiemi was holding onto a tree as a fierce current of water up to her knees threatened to sweep her away. 

"Wh-what was that?" She asked fearfully.

"Nee!" Her familiar cried out equally as fearfully. 

* * *

When the attack began to weaken it scattered its victims around helplessly. Yukio and Shura were lying down not far from each other trying to gasp for breath. Konekomaru was sitting up against a tree with Ryuji and Renzo on the ground not far from him. Izumo was hanging over the branch of a tree near them. She was unable to move anymore and hung there defeated. 

"Ugh, you guys alright?" Ryuji asked as he began to pick himself up. He coughed up some water. 

"Never better." Renzo answered sarcastically. "Man that was a ferocious attack." He commented as he used his staff to pick himself up. He watched as Ryuji ran over to Konekomaru and began to help him up. Renzo then turned to look around and saw Rin standing right in front of him on the other side. "Uwaaa!" He shouted in fear before he swung at Rin. Rin dropped his swords to each side and grabbed Renzo's staff as he attacked. He delivered a swift side kick that sent Renzo flying past his two friends. He then hit a rock and launched up a short distance before falling to the ground defeated as all. 

"Renzo!" Ryuji shouted. He turned to face Rin only to have the loop end of Renzo's staff around his neck. Rin pulled him forward and Ryuji flew off the ground towards Rin. Rin let go of the staff as Ryuji came flying forward and he struck his classmate in the chest with an open palm strike. Ryuji flew backwards with the staff still around his neck. Konekomaru could only watch as Ryuji went flying by much like Renzo. Rin went after him next, delivering a spinning kick with the sole of his foot that slammed Konekomaru against the tree once more. It splintered and broke where Konekomaru impacted and he slid down against it once more. He didn't get back up this time. Rin turned around when he heard someone else approaching. Shura was coming at him full speed. Rin grabbed his two swords and sent out a series of flame bullets. 

"Serpent fang!" Shura sent out a series of crescent shaped air projectiles. Each one clashed with Rin's flame bullets, nullifying each others attack. Shura continued to come at him and went in for a direct stab. Rin held out his hand with Kurikara. 

"Flamethrower." Rin spoke before a ball of blue fire shot out from his hands and consumed Shura. Somehow she still managed to pass out through the other side, still thursting her sword at him. Rin manged to step back but not before she could hit her target. She stabbed through his whole notepad while it was in his coat, no longer allowing him to summon anymore. Leviathan let out a massive roar before it distorted and  then faded away. 

_Got... it..._ Shura thought to herself before she fell face first to the ground. 

"You bastard!" Ryuji shouted. Rin looked over to where he had flown off to see him now charging at Rin with Renzo's staff. When he got close Ryuji swung it sideways, aiming for Rin's head. Rin deflected the attack with Ginkaze in his left and and with Kurikara and slashed Ryuji at the thigh. Ryuji let out a scream of pain as Rin spun with his attack and hit him in the head with the butt end of Ginkaze. Ryuji spun off the ground and landed face down in the dirt. "Damn." He muttered. He looked up only to see Rin pointing Kurikara right for him. Ryuji gritted his teeth as Rin stood over him like that. 

"Rin!" Yukio suddenly shouted. Rin turned around to see Yukio with one of his pistols. He cocked it and aimed it at Rin. "Let's finish this." Rin turned around and they now faced each other. 

"Right." Rin agreed. They stood there for only a brief moment before taking off directly for each other. Both of them had the same memory running through their head. A ten yer old Rin with his brother at their last dinner.  _One day, let's both become the best exorcists we can be and help out as many people we as we can._

They both closed in for one another, waiting for the right time to attack. Everything seemed to slow down at that moment. It was the deciding moment, everything had been leading up to this. Once they were right in front of each other Yukio fired and Rin slashed upwards. Yukio's right arm was severed, and as a result he missed. Rin stopped right behind Yukio.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Yukio shouted in pain. Rin spun around and kicked Yukio with another spinning heel kick. Yukio tumbled forward and ended up on his back. He stared up into the night sky and he began to breath heavily. He heard footsteps as Rin approached him. Rin stood over him to his left side. Rin stared down at his defeated brother with an unmoved expression.

"Rin..." Yukio managed to say weakly. 

"Galatians Chapter 6, Verse 7." Rin suddenly said out of nowhere. "A man reaps what he sows. In other words actions have consequences. You made a choice with your action five years ago, now it's time to reap what you sow." Rin suddenly turned Kurikara around in his hand so that the blade was pointed downwards. 

"And you think... this action won't have any consequences?" Yukio asked weakly.

"No, because this isn't an action. It's the consequence." Rin answered. 

"Rin, don't do this." Yukio pleaded. "If you kill me and go after Satan... you're going to die." 

"So what?" Rin asked, unmoved by the thought. "Nobody would care if I die. You showed me that years ago. My life have no purpose beyond this. So in order for me to have purpose in this world I must destroy Satan. But don't act like you care." He raised his sword to deliver the finishing blow. "Nobody cares about me."

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Rin and Yukio both looked over to see Shiemi standing there, a short distance away on the other side of Yukio. She looked mad but also like she was about to cry. Rin flipped Kurikara back to its normal position and stepped over Yukio. 

"Rin... don't." Yukio tried to stop him to avail. Rin just walked past him over to Shiemi, both of his swords in hand. 

"Shiemi, get out of there." Ryuji tried to tell her. Shiemi refused to move ad just gave Rin that angry look as he walked over to her. He stopped only a few inches from her. 

"Does this mean you interned to defy me too Miss Moriyama?" Rin asked her rather casually. 

"I don't know." She answered. "Truthfully I don't know about the things you said earlier. Maybe you're right, maybe the world really would be a better place if you killed Satan and took his place." She admitted. Her gaze then suddenly dropped. "But you're wrong because..." Then she looked back up at him. She was crying and looked heartbroken. "Because i'd be sad if you died." 

That's when Rin's jaded look faded. He looked surprised, something no one had seen before. He looked at her with wide eyes and his jaw dropped slightly. His flames suddenly weakened.

"Is it true?" He asked, looking downwards himself with a look of deep thought. "Am I not alone anymore?" His blue flames were now dead at this point, even with Kurikara drawn. The next thing he knew Shiemi ran over and wrapped her arms around him in an embracing hug. He looked down at her in surprise. 

"It must have been hard on you, growing up all lone like that." She told him in a soothing voice. "I know what it's like to be lonely, but I had my grandma. You didn't have anyone like that did you? But it's ok now Rin, you don't have to be alone anymore because you have me. I promise i'll be your friend no matter what." Rin was silent after that. He just stared wordlessly. 

"Shiemi..." Ryuji tried to call out to her. He wanted her to run while she still could.

"Rin, you don't-" Shiemi stopped when she felt Rin's head bump against hers. He let his fall and rested in on the top of her's Then he did what no one expected. He suddenly began to cry. Tears could be seen streaming down his face as he sobbed gently against her. The only three people who were still conscious, Yukio, Shiemi, and Ryuji, were all watching in shock. Rin never showed emotion, and especially not like this. 

"Shiemi." Rin suddenly spoke up though his sobs. "Thank you. I never... I never thought anyone could care about me anymore. So thank you."

She smiled up at him. "Does that mean you're going to come back now?" She asked hopefully.

"No." He replied. He broke their embrace and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Not right now anyway. There are some things I need to figure out by myself first."

"But, you will come back someday right?" She asked. 

"Yeah." Rin nodded. With that he turned around to leave and walked off into the forest, disappearing from sight. 

Up above Mephisto watched in his chair. "Hmm, what an anticlimactic ending. I was hoping for something more." He said to himself in disappointment. "Ah well, it would have been something to watch him try and kill Satan. But I suppose this does make for a sudden twist in our story. I certainly can't wait to see how it ends." With that he clapped his hands and vanished with a poof.

* * *

An hour later, the only one still left in that forest was the corpse of Amaimon. It seemed lifeless until suddenly something began to wiggle around under the skin on the back of his neck. A small hole burst open and a bug appeared from it. "How humiliating." Amaimon commented in a squeaky voice. A small green caterpillar with the head of Amaimon crawled out from the body. It crawled down the neck and began to crawl along the ground. "If Beelzebub ever saw me like this he'd never let me live it down. I can't believe I was defeated by that brat. I'll make sure he pays, i'll make sure-" A heavy boot began to press down on him and held him in place. A masked man with a red robe and chaos symbol on the back held the weakened Demon King in place. "Hey, what are you doing?!" Amaimon demanded. The man began to apply more pressure. Hey stop that! No, no, no wait!" 

_Squish!_

The caterpillar Amaimon was squashed under the man's boot. He held up his gloved hand and blue energy began to come out from under his shoe in wispy streams. It began to ball in his palm until it formed a small light blue orb. He pulled out a jar and placed it in there just like with Azazel. He held up to his mask and eyed it intently. 


	10. A short calm

"Ow, everything hurts." Ryuji commented from his bed. He was currently in the True Cross infirmary along with most of his classmates. Shiemi was there with them, but was the only one not bandaged and in a bed. Thankfully True Cross had a very good Department of Medicine with a school infirmary run by third and fourth year students. After the battle the Vatican forces were air lifted away to be treated elsewhere while Shiemi did her best to patch her friends up and take them back to the infirmary. Ryuji was in a full body cast with his right leg lifted up and only his head not covered. Konekomaru had bandaged around his head and his right arm and leg were both in casts. Izumo was in a full body cast similar to Ryuji but with her right arm and left leg raised. Renzo had bandages all around his chest and around his forehead. Shura had her right arm in a cast and raised with a patch on her right cheek and bandages over most of her body. Yukio had bandages around his chest and forehead with a patch on his left cheek. He also had his sleeve on his left side rolled up and pinned. Despite her medical knowledge, Shiemi was unable to save his arm and it could not be reattached. 

"Man, he really did a number on us." Renzo added. 

"It could be worse." Izuo tried to look on the bright side. "He could have easily killed us.

"That's true." Ryuji agreed. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more, I only had some plants available to me with Nee." Shiemi apologized. 

"Hey don't worry about it." Renzo reassured her with a smile. "You did your best. Besides, you did get him to stop right?" 

"That' right." Yukio confirmed. "If it wasn't for you Shiemi i'd probably be dead. You saved my life." 

"Oh, I don't know about that." She responded blushing.

"Hey come on, it was you who got him to stop. You should give yourself more credit." Shura reassured her. 

"Do you think it's true what he said?" Ryuji asked. "Do you think he'll actually come back after all that?"

"I don't know." Shiemi answered. "I hope he does though." 

"Me too Shiemi, me too." Yukio agreed. 

"Really? Even after he cut off your arm?" Shura turned her head to ask him. 

"Yeah, I really hope this could be a second chance now. Whatever he's trying to figure out, I hope he does."

The door to their room suddenly opened and all focus shifted as a blonde man walked in on a pair of crutches. Shura smirked at seeing the Paladin with his right foot in a cast. 

"Well look who it is." She greeted him. "You look great." 

"Hm, as always." He smirked, not knowing she had just insulted him. "I've been sent here by the Vatican to get a report from everyone here on what happened?"

"Report?" Shura asked. "We tried to stop him and he kicked our asses, what do you need a report on?" 

"And what happened to the boy?" Arthur asked. "I didn't seem him when your doctor was patching you all up."

"He's gone." Yukio answered. "He stopped his attack and said he needed to figure some things out. After that he left and we haven't seen him since." Arthur looked over to him intently as he said that. 

"I take it you're probably going to try and go after him huh?" Shura asked.

"No, after receiving such a defeat the Vatican has decided it's best to leave him alone." Arthur replied. 

"Cause he beat you up so easily?" She smirked. 

"I underestimated him, I won't do it again!" He quickly defended. "In any case, i'm not to go after him. The higher ups are using him defeating Amaimon as an excuse to let him go. I take it it'll probably be a while until he can find a host body again and build his strength back up. If we're lucky his soul will still be displaced for some time." 

"Displaced?" Shiemi asked. 

"Yes, that's right. While they are disgusting creatures demons have souls to. When a demon is defeated their soul is displaced for some time until they can return to Gehenna. For a Demon King to return to Assiah they need a host body to act as a vessel. Of course that will kill the host, but they never know that." 

"At least he's gone for now." Shura added. 

"Yes, I suppose that's true." Arthur reluctantly agreed. "I suppose that will have to do for now. I'll leave you rest so you can return to whatever it is you do." With that he left the room with the door still open. Shiemi stared out the window thoughtfully.

_Rin, please come back soon._

* * *

"So that's what you were trying to do with your power?" Iman asked.

"Was I wrong?" Rin responded with his own question. The two of them were both currently sitting at a bar in a back alley dive. They were the only two customers in the place. The only other person was a bartender, who hadn't even bothered to card Rin to make sure he was of legal age. Both of them sat next to each other with a small glass of alcohol in front of them. Iman took a few sips of his rum. 

"I suppose I can see how you came to such a conclusion, but you should have known it was foolish." He answered. 

"In a way I did, I knew my chances. I just didn't care. I thought it didn't matter if I lived or died, that I had no right to even exist in this world in the first place." Rin told him with a tone of melancholy. 

"I thought I taught you better than to think like that. Despite all your strength all your power, in the end all you did was wallow in self-pity." 

"I guess you're right." 

"So what are you going to do now?" Iman asked before taking another drink. 

"I don't know. After this i'm planning on going to see Master Yajirobe again and asking him some questions too." Rin replied. He took a sip of his whiskey. 

"I see. So the whole point of this trip reflecting on your choices?" 

"That and figuring out what i'm going to do now." Rin answered. 

Iman finished off his drink and put on a tip on the counter. "Well I wish you luck on your trip young Okumara." He said before standing up and heading for the door. Once he got to the door he took hold of it and suddenly stopped. "And Rin..." He called. Rin turned back to his sensei. "This Moriyama girl, she cares about you. Don't forget that." With that he left the diver bar. Rin finished off his own drink and left shortly after. 

* * *

An hour later he was in the field where he used to train. "Master Yajirobe." He called out. He then saw the large familiar rock and walked over to it. "Master Yajirobe." 

"Huh, what? Who is it?" The rock asked before a human head and limbs came out from it. "Oh, Rin. It's good to see you again. Shouldn't you be in school though? I thought you went to attend True Cross." 

"I did, I came here to talk to you about something." Rin told him. 

"Very well, have a seat." Yajirobe told him. He sat down in grass while Rin went of his knees. "Now, what have you come to talk about?"

"I wanted to ask you something." Rin told him. "I want to know what you make of things."

"Hmm?"

"You see, the real reason I wanted to learn Soul Burn was because I planned to use it on Satan." Yajirobe let out a sigh.

"Yes, I was afraid of that." He responded.

"After I left I went to attend True Cross to become an Exorcist. The Director let me in after he saw my skills. However he didn't tell me Yukio would be my homeroom teacher." 

"I see..."

"We even had to share the old dorm together. I tolerated it as best I could, but deep down I hated him. I hated his guts and wanted to make him pay for what he did." Rin's fists clenched as he told his sensei that. "Then one day we went on a mission together and I met this girl, Shiemi Moriyama. She was nice despite my behavior. She hung around me and I let her. I was surprised by her kindness. She ended up coming to classes and wanted to become an Exorcist too. Then when we went on a class trip into the woods we were attacked by Amaimon, the Demon King of Earth." Yajirobe looked a little surprised but said nothing. "I was forced to use my powers in order to defeat him. The Paladin came with some forces and I ended up defeating him too. Then I told him my plan, I was going to use Soul Burn to kill Satan and take over Gehenna as his heir." Yajirobe frowned. "After I announced that, Yukio tried to stop me. We ended up fighting, and my whole class took his side. All but Miss Moriyama who stayed out of it. I won, and I cut off Yukio's arm. I was about to kill him, telling I didn't care how low my chances were with killing Satan because no once cared. No one would care if I died. Then... Miss Moriyama came forward and told me she cared. I... never thought anyone cared anymore. Now I don't know what i'm doing anymore." There was a short pause after Rin finished explaining everything. Yajirobe let out another sigh.

"I believe you are good at heart Rin, but you are lost." Yajirobe told hi student. "How did your brother treat you during this time?"

"He tried to apologize, tried to fix things. But no matter what I didn't want to hear it. I hated him, part of me still hates him. Because of that hate I wouldn't allow him to get close." 

"Hmm..." Yajirobe thought for a moment. "If your brother is truly sorry then I would believe him. Besides, I doubt this Shiemi is very happy about your fighting." Rin didn't reply to that, instead looking down at the ground. "Are you planning on going back?"

"I don't know. I spent this last few years of my life training for this one purpose, now it's gone. Now I don't know what i'm going to do." 

"Is that what you've come here for? You want me to tell you what to do?" Yajirobe asked. 

"I suppose. I feel lost, like I don't know what to do next." Rin told him. 

"Well why not go back?" He suggested. "You can return any time you wish correct?"

"Can I really just go back?" Rin asked solemnly. "After what i've done. I injured all my classmates and cut off my brother's arm." 

"Well I don't see why you can't." Yajirobe replied innocently. "Listen Rin, you can't go for life focusing only on the negative like you do. You're going to lose, no matter what you try to achieve. Your brother does care about you, whether or not you want to accept that is up to you. This Shiemi sure seems to care about you. I'm sure they'd both be happy if you returned. However these are only my thoughts. The decision is ultimately up to you." Rin stared down at the ground silently with a reflective look. "Well it's good to see you again Rin but i've given all I could offer you. Now if you excuse me i'm off to see a good friend." Yajirobe then departed the field and left Rin there alone. Rin sat there for quite some time, reflecting on his past decisions.

* * *

**Two weeks later...**

"Great, out of the hospital and right back to class." Ryuji complained. "They really aren't gonna cut us a break are they?" 

"Well we did miss two weeks of class." Renzo reminded him. Ryuji grunted in irritation. The students of the cram school were now making their way to their normal classes in True Cross Academy. 

"This is just great, we have to make up two weeks worth of work and on top of that we need to take the whole Exwire exam all over again. Stupid Okumara." Ryuji pouted. 

"Wasn't really his fault, he was forced to use his powers when Amaion appeared." Izumo noted. 

"That's true. If he hadn't done that then we all would have died." Konekomaru added. 

"Yeah, but he also put us in the hospital for two weeks." Ryuji complained. 

"He's not really a touchy feely guy. In hind sight we probably shouldn't have gotten in his way." Izumo replied. 

"Agreed." Renzo said with a nod. Shiemi looked out the windows as they walked down the hall and wondered about Rin silently.

* * *

Unseen by anyone, a hooded figure in a red robe stood atop a building within the academy town. He wore a mask resembling distraught on his face as he looked over the small academy town. "Sir!" Another hooded and masked figure approached. "The men are ready on your word." 

"Good." The masked figure replied. He walked past a small army on the roof with him, all of them armed and dressed the same as him. He turned his attention to the school. "Then let us begin the assault of True Cross Academy." 


	11. Attack!

The leader of the group stood on the edge of a rooftop not far from the academy. He was silent as his men got into position. A line of ten of them all got in front of him and took a knee. Each one of those men lined across the rooftop held a Russian RPG-7 rocket launcher. They all lifted their weapons up and took aim. The leader of the group raised his right hand straight in the hair with his hand open. With one motion he brought it down in front of him, a signal to start the attack. The men in front of him all fired at once and a group of rockets took off for the school.

* * *

"Now onto cosign and tangent..." The teacher droned on. Most of his class was paying attention while a few from the cram school were starting to fall asleep. Ryuji and Renzo both looked very tired and had a hard time listening in. Shiemi was in her own little word and completely out of it. Ryuji let out a sigh.

"Man, this sucks." He muttered to himself. 

"To find the cosign you must use the formula-"

_BOOM!_

The building suddenly began to shake as if there was an earthquake and all the students panicked. The teacher stopped and looked around the room nervously. "What was that?" He asked fearfully. It would be answered as there was a buzz on of the school PA system.

"Attention students, True Cross is currently under attack by armed men. Please evacuate the building, this is not a drill." A woman's voice announced. The students all stared in shock. This wasn't a test or a joke. There were actually people outside assaulting there school as if it was a war. 

"Alright students, everyone out. Wwe're evacuating the building." The teacher told them as calmly as he could. The students all grabbed their things then headed out the door as quickly as they could. Once they were outside the classroom Izumo screamed.

"AIYEEEE!" The students all turned to see her looking horrified at a gruesome sight. The class right down the hall was on the outside, the students there received the full force of the rockets. The wall was blown open and blackened around the hole. Dead bodies littered that end of the hall, scattered all around the floor with a couple slumped up against the wall. Their eyes were still open. A few of them were missing body parts. 

"They're... they're all dead." Ryuji muttered in horror. "Holy shit..."

* * *

Downstairs, some of the classes closer to the main entrance had managed to reach the large doors. Two teachers pushed them open as students started to pour out. "Everyone out!" One of the two teachers ordered. The students wasted no time fleeing. As they started to exit however, there was suddenly the sound of a gunshot and one of them fell. Then another gunshot not far off from the first and a second fell. The two gunshots began to go off in rhythm as students fell. A pair of snipers armed with Dragunov SVD's watched the main entrance from the rooftops. They picked off the students that attempted to flee that way. The students quickly picked up on the fact that they were being picked off and began to retreat back inside. It was too late for them however.

A large number of robed and masked figures appeared from nearby alleys and bushes. Each of them was armed with a M4 rifles. They moved in on the retreating students quickly and began mowing them down with their automatic fire. For the students closest to the doors there was no chance of survival Everyone there was massacred quickly and the disguised men all entered True Cross Academy to finish the hunt. 

* * *

"Damn, why the hell did something like this have to happen?" Shura asked as she entered True Cross from the cram school. Yukio followed in right behind and watched her back, aiming his pistols down the other side of the hall. He now had a prosthetic right arm that he had designed himself. It was as fully functional as his old arm, plus with a few hidden surprises. 

"Stay sharp, we're not used to this kind of opponent." Yukio reminded her.

"Yeah, you don't need to tell me that." She shot back. Just then a large number of men began rushing through the hallway in front of Shura. A few of them split off and headed for the two exorcists with their rifles aimed. "Serpent fang!" Shura slashed her sword through the air a few time, creating crescent shaped air projectiles that sailed for the men. Two of them were taken out. The two in the back however both kicked in doors to two different classrooms and ducked inside. Once Shura's attack passed they poked their heads out and fired at the two exorcists. Yukio and Shura both took cover in a stairwell. "Damn, what the hell are these guys? Special forces?" Shura asked irritated. Yukio poked his head out and opened fire with his pistols. The two men ducked into the classes to avoid the few shots from Yukio. They then quickly returned fire and forced Yukio to take cover. 

"I'll distract them." Yukio told Shura. "I'll take out the one in the back, after that you take on the guy on the right, he's closer."

"Right." She nodded. Yukio holstered both of his pistols and rolled out into the open. He held out his right prosthetic arm towards them. It suddenly opened at the elbow. His forearm went to the side in the opposite direction of how his elbow should have bent. The two men stared for a moment in confusion. Something shot out of his bicep and launched towards the an in the back. It hit the wall just behind him and exploded. Yukio had a hidden 40mm grenade launcher hidden and just used it for the first time. The first robbed man looked back as his comrade was blown apart. Shura took this moment to rush in. The man turned around too late to react. Shura slashed down at him and he hardly managed to dodge. The attack ended up taking his mask by cutting through it. The man looked up to her and she could see he was now human. Though it resembled a human face his skin was gray and rotting. His eyes were black where they should have been white and his pupils were green. He raised his rifle to fire but was quickly cut down by Shura. 

"Shit, did you see that?" She asked. 

"I did." Yukio replied and he stood back up and his arm returned to normal. "They're some type of ghoul. We have to find the students, they'll be able to help." 

"You want to drag them into this?" Shura asked. 

"I know it's not fair, but they're the only one who can help at this point." Yukio answered. Shura nodded. 

"I guess we don't have much of a choice. It's do or die." 

* * *

This way students!" The homeroom teacher called out to his class. "The main entrance is surrounded, we have to go out the back!" They were all running now. Gunshots could be heard throughout the building along with the occasional scream. It was like a nightmare. They had no clue why these people were here or why they wanted them dead, but they did. One of the most prestigious schools in Japan had just turned into a killing field. They could only hope that the police of JSDF would come and save them. The teacher took them down a turn as they made their way for a back entrance. As they made their way down that hall, two robed figures appeared in front of them. The teacher jumped in front of them, determined to save his students. He was killed almost immediately. The two men opened fire and tore into him. His body jerked violently a few times before he fell over backwards. Most of the students took this short time to flee around another corner. Only the cram school students were left standing there, paralyzed in fear. 

"Crap." Ryuji said fearfully. There was a bang and one man slumped over dead. The other turned his head towards his partner before a swords stabbed through him. He lost his grip on his weapon and went limp. The sword retracted from him and they were suddenly replaced with Yukio and Shura. 

"Professor Kirigakure! Professor Okumura!" Renzo greeted them in delight. "Man are we glad to see you guys." 

"We need your help." Yukio told them. "We need you to help us push back our attackers." The students all gasped.

"What? You want us to fight them? We're exorcists, not soldiers!" Ryuji protested. 

"They're ghouls." Yukio informed him. "All these men, they're all ghouls who are being controlled by someone. We need to push them back and find out who the puppet master is." 

"Great, so we're really getting thrown into the fire this time." Ryuji commented. 

"Seems that way." Yukio answered before picking up one of the rifles. He handed it to Ryuji. "Here, you want to a Dragoon too right? Now seems like a good time to start." Ryuji hesitated for a moment but took the automatic rifle from his sensei. "Ever fire one of those before?"

"No." 

"Squeeze the trigger, fire in controlled bursts." He pointed to a button near the mag. "This is the mag release, once you're out press this to eject the mag and put a new one in. Then pull this to chamber the next round." 

"Right, got it!" Ryuji nodded. 

"Shiemi, you're the only Doctor here so I want you to go and help any survivors you find." Yukio instructed her. "Be careful." 

"I will!" She nodded confidently. She opened her backpack to the pouch where she kept Nee hidden. He looked up at her. "Come on Nee."

"Nee!" He cheered. Shiemi took off with him on her shoulder.

* * *

Nearby, a group of students hid behind a corner as a squad of robed men opened fire. "I don't want to die!" A girl shouted in fear. There was a white flash down the hall they were in which caught their attention. No one saw the two white foxes that ran past and turned around the corner. The men tried to take out the fox spirits but they were two swift. They both started passing through and taking out the men. Ryuji came running by and took cover around the corner. 

"Everyone get out of here!" He ordered.  No one said anything, they all listened and ran while they still could. Ryuji aimed around the corner and fired. He was able to take one man out but not without the recoil knocking him backwards. He fell the ground as he was surprised by the recoil. The robed men all looked towards the sound of gunfire and stopped paying attention to the foxes. This was a mistake, as the foxes then finished them off. Renzo hid around the corner as this all happened.

"Man, this is a really bad time to be a Knight." He commented. 

"You alright Bon? Konekomaru asked as he came over to help his friend. 

"Yeah, it just surprised me was all." He replied as he was helped back up. "But you know, I just thought of something."

"What is it?"

"Well the announcer lady said that armed men were attacking the school right? And everyone has been reacting like they can see them."

"Yeah, so?" Konekomaru asked with a tilt of his head. 

"Well if they're supposed to be ghouls how comes everyone without a temptaint can see them?" His friends all looked shocked as they came to realize this.

"You're right, normally very few of them should have been able to see these guys." Izumo stated. "But it seems like everyone can see them clear as day."

"I'm thinking whoever summoned them must be really powerful if normal people can see them." Ryuji theorized. 

"Or these are a special kind of ghoul." Renzo added. 

"Maybe both." Konekomaru rubbed his chin and thought. "Either way we can't stop and think about this now. We have to save the school." 

Just then, another squad of disguised men came around the corner. They began to open fire and everyone took cover inside a classroom. Ryuji opened fire to keep them out. 

"Behold the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone because the Father is with me!" Ryuji chanted. The robed ghouls suddenly began to jerk in pain before they each vanished in a cloud of black dust. "Come on, let's move."

* * *

In another part of the school Shiemi was lining people she found still alive up against the wall as she treated them. Nee had been a great help with providing medical plants and herbs. She used what she could to bandage their wounds. Most of them were dead, there was nothing more she could do for them. It saddened her seeing so much death, but she tried to get through it as best she could. She focused on the people still alive who needed her help. She finished helping the last person in that part of the school and left them to go searching for more. She ran into a hallway where she found one person still alive. "Miss Paku!" Shiemi ran over to help her. Paku was barely conscious as she stared up at the person helping her. 

"Sh...iemi?" She asked weakly. 

"Shh, don't speak. You're injured." Shiemi told her classmate. She found a class banner on the wall nearby and began to tear it up. She went quickly back to Paku's side and began to bandage her up with the fabric. "Nee, I need some turmeric please." 

"Nee!" He instantly produced the plant she needed. Shiemi crushed it up as best she could and began to rub the powder into Paku's wounds. 

"I'm sorry..." Paku apologized weakly. "I left the cram school because I thought I was too weak to go through it. But even now i'm relying on you to help me."

"Hey, don't think like that." Shiemi reassured her. "At first I thought I was too weak too, especially compared to Rin. But now i've begun to find my own strength and help everyone however I could. You're not weak Paku. Now please be quiet, you need rest." Paku smiled gently up at her friend as Shiemi continued to help her. Just then, a large group of the men assaulting their school came down the hall where they were in. Two men ran ahead and jumped in their with the rifles aimed at the two girls. Shiemi's classmates along with Yukio and Shura came around the other side but were too late to do anything. 

"Oh no!" Konekomaru cried out.

"Shiemi!" Ryuji shouted. Shiemi closed her eyes as the two men came down at her and Paku. She waited for them to fire. There was a swift gust of wind and Shiemi felt nothing. She slowly peeked with one eye. She stared up in shock along with her classmates. Standing there in front of her with his back turned was Rin. He was holding Ginkaze out to his right and blood gushed out of the two men who had tried to attack her.

"Rin!" Shiemi cried out cheerfully. The two bodies of the ghouls fell down while the group of the others all seemed shocked. Rin tossed his sword into his other hand and drew Kurikara. Blue flames shot out from his body and covered him like an aura. The leader of the group stood in the back of all his subordinates and narrowed his eyes. Rin moved in on the men with blinding speed. He began cutting them down with little effort. They should aim to fire only to be cut down before they could. One did manage to fire his rifle but Rin ducked and he ended up taking out his own team mate. 

_They're all giving off a demonic presence._ Rin thought to himself as he began to spin around and cut them all down. _That must mean the leader won't give off the same energy._ "Flamethrower." A large ball of blue flames shot out of Rin's hand and consumed several ghouls. Rin passed through it as it began to dissipate and went back to cutting down the forces. _There!_ Rin suddenly spun around and threw Kurikara at the leader. It spun in circles as it flew through the air towards the leader. He caught it between his palms, clapping them together and catching each flat side of the blade. Rin suddenly disappeared from sight. He appeared once more holding onto Kurikara and with his other hand punched the man in the face. His mask shattered and he stumbled back. Rin jumped backwards and finished off the last two ghouls with a swing of each sword. He then landed on his hands and back flipped to where he was in front of Shiemi. Only the leader was left now.

"Alright way to go Rin!" Ryuji cheered. He and the others all ran over and got behind him. The man hung his head down and hid his fair. All they could see was hi short black hair. Then looked up and revealed himself. The right side of his face looked normal, his eye on that side was brown and nothing was off. His left side however was a different story. The left side of his face was heavily deformed. His left eye was pure white and he seemed to have a heavily scarred lump on the left side of his face. he and Rin stared silently at each other for a moment. 

"You must be Cain." Rin stated. 

"What? Rin, you know this guy?" Ryuji asked. Rin turned his attention to him. 

"You're an Aria, you ought to know the story of Cain and Abel." Rin replied. Ryuji was silent for a moment as he tried to process that. 

"Wait, that Cain?!" Ryuji shouted in shock.

"Yes." Rin turned his attention back to Cain. "That Cain. Original sin." 

"And you're the False King." Cain responded to him. "The illegitimate son of Satan. 

"False King?" Rin repeated in his monotone. "I think I like that name. Now what are you doing here, and why are you killing these students?"

"They're just collateral damage to my plan." He responded coldly. "I am going to get my revenge on God for punishing me like this. I am going to destroy the world created in his image and make him watch. So..." Cain offered out his left ungloved hand. "Why not join me?" 

"What? Rin asked. 

"You and I aren't that different. You tried to kill your brother just as I have. You too have a dream and would do anything to see it through. So why not join me? Have your place in the world by destroying this one that has wronged you." Rin was silent for a moment, everyone waited for his response. 

"Tch." Rin sneered. He went in and attacked. Cain. He swung Kurikara upwards and Cain deflected the attack by kicking the side of the blade. Rin then tried to attack with Ginkaze and Cain blocked Rin's wrist with his own before the blade could connect. "You know I was like you not too long ago. I thought I would just go and change the world to my own image without giving a damn about the consequences. I thought I was the victim and that I was justified. But you know what I realized something about us." 

"And what's that?" Cain asked as they were locked like that. 

"We're both just shitty people." Rin told him. He then kicked up at Cain who jumped back. Rin back flipped away and landed on his feet a short distance away. Cain came at him and Ron prepared to block it. That was until he saw the glove on Cain's right hand. He made a fist with it and tried to punch Rin. Rin ducked under it and moved forward to get behind Cain. Cain spun around however and Rin received a strike with the back of his fist to the face. He rolled sideways from the force of the attack and Cain continued to come at him. Rin dodged all his attacks skillfully as Cain sent out a barrage of punches and a few kicks. 

_What's he doing?_ Yukio thought. _It's like he's trying to not get hit._

Cain attacked with an open palm strike and Rin back flipped away, gaining some distance between him and his opponent. 

"Ta dah!" There was a poof of smoke as Mephisto suddenly appeared between Cain and Rin. 

"Mephisto?" Yukio was surprised to see him. 

"Not to worry Professor Okumura, i'll save you!" Mephisto replied to him cheerfully. "I can't just allow this rouge to go around killing my students in my academy. Prepare yourself foe for I-" He was cut off when Cain punched him in the guy with his stone gauntlet. 

"Demon King or not i'm still hundreds of years older than you. i've been planning this for thousands of years and i will not be stopped by the likes of you!" Cain then delivered a quick series of uppercuts into Mephisto that sent him up into the air. He then jumped in the air and spin kicked Mephisto through a wall. Mephisto slammed against a wall in a classroom and was quickly grabbed by a speedy Cain. Cain threw him through another wall and he landed against an exterior wall this time. Cain was upon him one more and delivered a swift series of jabs to Mephisto. With one last strike he slammed the demon king of time through wall and into the air from the second story. He then jumped into the air with him and took hold of Mephisto's head. He spun Mephisto overhead before throwing him to the ground like a ragdoll. Mephisto landed with a boom and created a cloud of dirt. Cain landed down below unharmed. He went over to the beaten and defeated Mephisto and held his gloved hand open with the palm up. Rin and the others watched from the hole in the wall as a blue energy began to rise out from Mephisto and ball in his hand. 

"He's... he's taking his soul." Yukio came to realize. 

"What?!" Konekomaru shouted in disbelief. Soon enough the energy formed a small blue orb that floated in Cain's hand. He pulled out a glass jar once more and placed the ball inside. 

"What are you up to Cain?" Rin called down below. Cain turned and looked up at him. 

"I am collecting the souls of the eigth demon kings. This makes four now. I have to thank you for going through the trouble of defeating Amaimon for me." Cain told him. "Once I have harnessed the power of the eight demon kings I will bring Satan into this realm. With their power together they can form a body for him to materialize. Once Satan is brought to this world I will help him destroy it and have my revenge." 

"You wanted me to join in helping Satan?" Rin asked in disbelief. 

"I suppose so. I was hoping you could get over your grudge with him, or just try to kill him after it was all over. I have no loyalty to him myself, I just want him to burn this world down. Now i'm halfway there. This whole attack was just a scheme to lure out Samael, or as you call him Mephisto. He fell into it perfectly. Now i'll take my leave." With a flick of his wrist he made a motion to signal forward.  A large group of his men burst out the window and retreated. Everyone above just stood there and watched.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" Ryuji asked Rin.

"No." Rin replied blankly. "That guy is far stronger than I am. Even I have my limits." 

"Rin." Shimei called softly behind him. He turned around to face her. "Does this mean you're back?" She asked. He stared at her for a moment. 

"Yes." He answered. 

"Did you figure out what you were trying to?" She asked. 

"I did." He told her. "After that night I felt lost. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with my life anymore. I went off to go figure it out. It took my some time but I know now..." He was silent for a moment. "I want to protect you Shiemi." He told His voice was stoic and unfeeling as always but somehow Shiemi knew he meant it. She knew he was sincere when he told her that. He truly wanted to protect her. Here eyes began to water and she smiled up at him. 

"Rin..." She spoke with a heartfelt voice. Yukio suddenly stepped forward and seemed to grab Rin's attention. 

"It's good to have you back Rin." Yukio greeted him with a smile. "I would also like you to stay. If it's alright with you lets work together for once." He held out his right arm towards Rin. Rin stared at it for a moment. 

"Yukio, you're arm..."

"It's a fake." Yukio told him still smiling. " I designed it myself. I don't mind, I just want to try and be close like we used to. I want to start over, despite everything. Let's at least try." Rin was silent for just a moment as he started to truly realize that Yukio had meant it when he wanted to try and make it up to Rin. Rin grabbed his right hand with his own and the two of them shook hands. It was the first time in years they had come to an understanding. 

"Yeah." Rin agreed and the two brothers reunited once more.


	12. Relics

Rin quietly closed the door to one of the infirmary rooms behind him. His fellow classmates from the cram school were all gathered in a corridor sitting down in chairs. Yukio let out a sigh. "170 injured students." Yukio muttered in exhaustion. "I never thought i'd have to take so many people to the infirmary, especially not at once." He was tired. After Shiemi had done her best to patch the injured up they were all brought to the school infirmary. Those working there who were not injured or killed would be busy for awhile. 

"Yeah, but that's nothing to the over 500 killed during the attack." Konekomaru reminded him. "I never thought something like this would happen. It's like a nightmare." 

"There's nothing we can do for them anymore." Rin stated blankly. "For the sake of the survivors and those alive we need to focus on stopping Cain. He can not be allowed to bring Satan into this world." 

"We'll he's already halfway there so we had better find him and stop him quick." Shura stated. 

"It's not that simple." Rin replied. Another figure then joined them in the infirmary. They all turned their heads to see the Paladin now standing there. He was on his own feet this time and looked healthy. 

"Hello again all, pleased i'm sure." He greeted them in his egotistical way. His good mood vanished when he noticed Rin was in the room. "Oh great, the demon's back."

"You looking to get your ass kicked again?" Rin asked. Arthur sneered at him. 

"The hell are you doing back here?" Shura asked.

"The Vatican wants another report i'm afraid. News of the attack on your school spread quickly, it's all over the news everywhere. Even in other countries. The Vatican is curious as to who would attack their school and why."

"It was Cain!" Ryuji told him.

"Cain who?" 

"From the Bible." Rin clarified. "Cain and Abel, original sin." 

"Him?" Arthur asked surprised. "I know he existed and was immortal due to his curse but he vanished centuries ago. The Vatican ceased tracking him and he went dark. Why would he return at a time like this?" 

"He's after the souls of the demon kings." Yukio spoke up. "I don't know how but he's planning on using them to create a physical form for Satan in Assiah."

He's what?!" Arthur was wide eyed with shock. "This is worse than I imagined. So I take it this attack was to lure out Mephisto then?" 

"That's right." Yukio nodded. "The men who attacked us were some type of ghoul. He must have summoned them all."

"Yeah but it was weird." Ryuji commented. "Everyone in the school could see them whether or not they had a temptaint." 

"That is certainly strange." Arthur agreed. "I'll have to look into this matter more. Was there anything else?"

"He has a relic." Rin told him.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. He has one of the relics. Being the Paladin i'm sure you know about them." Arthur narrowed his eyes at Rin. 

"I don't know where you learned about such a thing but that knowledge is dangerous. Be glad the Vatican has decided to leave you alone or else you would be brought in for questioning."

"What's a relic?" Shiemi asked innocently. Arthur sighed. 

"I was hoping that this wouldn't get out but since you're all here I suppose there's no avoiding it." He complained.

"They're very powerful artifacts embedded with the power of faith." Rin announced. "They are essentially the form of faith and hope created into physical objects. Every religion has one relic and they're ultimate tools for the different classes. Each one is for use for some class and they are more powerful than anything any human could create. The Vatican had the Christian one, the Nails of the Cross." 

"If you know all this then do you know which one he had?" Arthur asked. 

"The Fist of Osiris." Rin answered. Arthur looked surprised once more. 

"He found it? It's been missing longer than the Vatican was around." 

"He's been alive that long too." Rin reminded him. "He's thousands of years old, he's had plenty of time to search for it."

"I'm guessing that this Fist of Osiris must be the one for the religion of the ancient Egyptian." Konekomaru guessed. Rin nodded to him. 

"That's right, that's how he was able to summon those ghouls. It's a tamer's weapon that lets you reincarnate the dead and have them serve as your personal minions." 

"So basically he's got a super powerful weapon that none of us can stack up against?" Shura summarized. "So now what?" 

"We need to find more relic bearers and gather them together to stop him." Rin answered. "The only thing powerful enough to go up against a relic is another relic."

"Well where do we find these relics?" Ryuji asked. 

"Don't know." Rin replied emotionlessly. "I only know they exist and I can name some of them. I know next to nothing about where to find them. Not only that but some of them have been lost throughout the ages. The Fist of Osiris was one of them. Many have gone searching for it only to come back empty handed. But Cain's found it somehow and now its his. Another example would be the Bolt of Zeus. Good luck finding that." 

"So are all the older polytheistic relics lost?" Konekomaru asked. 

"Most of them, there's two I know that aren't." Rin replied. "We can go to Norway and look for Mjolnir. That one is hidden but not lost. There's some clan that owns it and passes it down from one generation to the next. Whoever they are I can't say though."

"And the other?" Yukio asked. 

"The other, or others are right here in Japan. Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, two swords with the power of the sun and the moon. They're closely guarded by the Japanese government and there's only one person who knows where they are. The Emperor." The room was silent for the moment.

"So, we have to not only go the the Emperor of Japan and ask him to give us two of the most powerful weapons ever created, but we also have to go to Norway and find the clan that posses Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor?" Yukio asked to clarify. Rin nodded to him silently. 

"The more we have the better." Rin added. "If we're looking for more it also might do us good to go down to Jerusalem as seek the High Priest. He'll have the High Priest's Breastplate. It's a piece of armor but it'll protect against any demonic energy, no matter how strong. I suppose that's the one exception as to not fitting one of the classes." rin turned his attention to Arthur. "Can we count of you to bring the Nails of the Cross?" 

"Why would I do that?" Arthur asked bitterly. "Even if he has a relic I have no intention of helping the lot of you, and especially not with such a holy object."

"Oh come on, such a big threat arises and you still won't swallow your pride?" Shura asked.

"Never!" He defended. 

"What do these nails even do?" She asked.

"They're two two nails that went into the hands of Christ during his crucifixion." Rin answered her question. "If the wielder stabs them into his own hands he will be given the healing abilities mentioned in the New Testament. It's an ultimate doctor's tool, it'll heal any injury and even bring a fallen comrade back to life if used quick enough." 

"Hey, if we can get the Jewish and Christian relics do you think we can ask the Isalmic bearer to help too?" Izumo asked. 

"No, the Islamic one is missing too." Rin responded. "Not as long as the others mind you. It was locked up tight in the Mecca. But about ten years ago it suddenly vanished. There was no trace of it or evidence as to who stole it. It's been missing ever since." 

"Man, how do so many powerful artifacts go missing?" Ryuji wondered aloud.

"War." Rin answered dryly. "Another country or empire comes in and conquers the old, destroys their culture. The super powerful weapon ends up being forgotten about and lost through the ages without a trace. It might have taken Cain hundreds or thousands of years just to find that relic." 

"Well then we'll just have to make due with that we have." Yukio spoke up. He got up from his chair as well. "Being that we're pressed for time I suggest we split up into teams. Miss Kirigakure and I will travel to Israel to find the High Priest. Bon, Konekomaru, Renzo, and Izumo, I want you all to travel to Norway to find whoever has Mjolnir and ask for his help. Rin and Shiemi, I want you to stay here and go find the two swords."

"Is that allowed? Us splitting up like that without a teacher I mean." Konekomaru asked. 

"Normally no, but this is a different situation. I need you all to help us search at the same time. We can't waste time going from place to place. You'll just have to trust me." Yukio answered. Ryuji let out a sigh. 

"I guess we don't really have much of a choice do we?" He replied. "I say we do it." 

"Then it's agreed. We'll split up to find the other relics in order to stop Cain." Yukio announced. "It would be nice to have the Vatican's support and The Nails of the Cross." 

Hmph." Arthur turned. "That will be up to the Grigori, not I." He told them before taking his leave. 

"What a prick." Shura remarked.


	13. The Holy Land

A bus came to a stop at the corner of an intersection in Jerusalem, Israel. Only two people stepped off the bus, Yukio and Shura. The part of the city where they were dropped off was busy. People were moving about in every direction. Yukio and Shura stood out frankly. Shura knew that this part of the world was more conservative so she had a change of dress. She was now wearing and exorcist's trench coat, just like Yukio. Even still they were two Japanese people in the middle of Israel, which was not a common sight. "Come on, we need to find this high priest." Yukio said to his partner. 

"Yeah yeah." She responded as they started to make their way down the street. The place was rather loud with the hustle and bustle of a large city. "Do you even know where we're going to start looking for this guy?" 

"I have no idea where he might be really." Yukio answered. "So i'm thinking we should ask some of the local Synagogues. The rabbis might know whereto find him." 

"You think they'll just tell us?" She asked him.

"If we explain we're from the Vatican branch of Japan then probably. The Vatican and Jerusalem have a peace treaty and are considered allies. If that doesn't work i'm sure they'll change their tune once we explain the situation." The two of them soon came upon a military checkpoint. IDF soldiers were checking the IDs of citizens and tourists to make sure they were legitimate. There was an attack at a hospital a few days ago so security in the area was increased. Yukio and Shura approached the checkpoint together. 

"IDs please." A soldier holding an M4 rifle asked them. Both of them gave him their's at the same time. He glanced down and recognized them right away. "You're from the Vatican huh?"

"That's right." Yukio answered. "Perhaps you can help us, we're looking for the High Priest." The soldier gave him a confused look. 

"The High Priest? What do you want with him?" 

"A situation has come up that we wish to ask for his help in." Yukio replied. 

"Alright, give me a second." The soldier pulled a radio communicator off his belt. "This is the southwest checkpoint at sector 23, I have two exorcists asking for permission to see the High Priest, over." There was a buzz as he cut off signal from his device. Another voice could be heard from the other end speaking Hebrew. "Roger." The soldier spoke before turning his attention back to the two exorcists. "I am to take you to meet him, follow me." He told them. He led them to a military Jeep that did not have a top to it. He got in the driver's seat with Yukio next to him and Shura in the back. The soldier started up the car and began to drive away from the checkpoint and out of the city. "We're going to a base just outside of the city." He told them as he made his way down the streets. "The High Priest is on a mission right now so you'll have to wait until he gets back." 

"A mission?" Yukio repeated.

"That's right. The High Priest today is also a part of the IDF." The man informed him. "Don't worry though, it shouldn't take him long.

* * *

In a building in the middle of an abandoned village, a group of Islamic extremists held themselves up in an old apartment building with a group of five hostages. The five hostages were all of European descent, and all dressed in formal suits. There were three men in the room with them on the second floor. They were armed with AK-47s and were watching over their hostages. There were more extremists within the house in other rooms but there were only the five hostages. They were taken prisoner from the UK's embassy building in Israel. They were then bagged and driven to this remote and abandoned village where they were being held for ransom. 

As one of the guards passed, a hostage with short cut brown hair and glasses tried to reason with him. "You don't have to do this you know." He bargained with a British accent. "We can resolve this without violence if you just let us go and walk away." 

"Oh really? And who's going to make us?" The man with the guns asked back.

"Think about what you're doing. By holding us here you are not only making an enemy of the IDF but out royal forces as well. Would you like this building to be raided by the Israeli Commandos and the SAS?"

"If they come in we kill you all!" The terrorist shouted while pointing his rifle at the man. "Now keep quiet or you die!" The ambassador said nothing more. 

"Lotta bloody good that did ya." Another ambassador with shaggy brown hair muttered to him in a Scottish accent. There was a knock on the door to the room and another guard went over to answer it. Another man with an AK poked his head in and spoke the the guard for a moment before leaving. 

"We've just received word from the Swiss negotiator. They want to offer us 100,000 Euros to release the hostages." He told his two comrades. 

"Bah, do they think we can be bought out so easily?" Another scoffed. He moved behind the hostages and stood in front of a window. "We won't release them until their country releases our men. That is the deal, no negotiation!" 

There was a crash from the window behind that man and he did not have time to react as a masked soldier kicked him to the ground. He was then unable to react as the soldier shot him in the back of the head with a Jericho 941 pistol. ON the other side of the hostages were the other two men, one one the right the other on the left. The soldier promptly threw his Ka-bar knife across the room at the right man. It stabbed into his throat and he held his hand up to it before falling back. The insurgent on the left was shot twice with the pistol before he could fire. The hostages all stayed on their knees as this was happening. The man ran past them to retrieve his knife. 

"Wait here." He ordered them. The took the knife from the fallen's man's body as he heard someone running down the hall. Another man tried to rush in the room with a Chinese Type 54 pistol. He opened the door with his pistol going in first. The Israeli soldier who stormed the building grabbed the top of the pistol and slammed the door shut on the other man's hand. The insurgent yelled in pain and let go of his gun in response. The soldier put his foot on it as it hit the ground and slid it to the other side of the room. Then in one swift motion he opened the door, pulled the other man in by the wrist, and with his other hand jammed his knife into the enemy's throat. The terrorist went limp and fell when the man retracted his knife. He then entered the hall with his weapons ready. 

The hall on the second floor was in an L-shape. When the man exited the room he ended up in the small section of the hall. Straight ahead was the turn to the long part and the stairs which ran with the long part of the hall. The soldier swiftly moved around the corner as two men were exiting the door at the far end. He fired four rounds, two for each target. They all hit their mark and the two men from that room fell over dead. The masked special forces agent made his way down the hall with his gun aimed in that direction. To his right was two more closed doors, to his left along the stairs was an outside wall. As he moved towards the last room and the top of the stairs, the second door swung open when he was right in front of it. A single terrorist inside aimed a Mossberg 500 at him. The soldier quickly jabbed his elbow into the other man's face. The attack stunned him and allowed the agent to quickly turn and deliver another two rounds into him. 

Two more insurgents were heard shouting from the floor below and the soldier hid in the room he just shot the man in. Two terrorists then ascended to the top of the steps, one with an AK-47 and the other with a more compact AK-74U. When they both saw no one they went to check on the hostages. As they both made their way down the long section of the hall, the special forces soldier quickly popped out of the room with the shotgun that was attempted to be used on him. He shot the one terrorists in the back and his arms went up and he dropped his short AK-74U. The other in the front hardly had time to turn around as the man pumped another round in the chamber and finished him off as well. The IDF soldier then made his way downstairs to check that the rest of the building was clear. 

When he did not find anyone else he headed back up to the hostages. He stood in the doorway and motioned for them to get up. "It's all clear now let's move." He told them. They all stood up and rushed for the stairs, then the door. There was a Blackbird helicopter outside of the village with its rotors running. It was prepared to take the hostages aboard and take off. The man who had rescued them followed behind, aiming different directions with his pistol to make sure the rest of the village was clear. Intel had suggested it was, but he knew you could never be too careful. The five hostages boarded the helicopter one by one as a soldier aboard helped them up. The other soldier who had raided the building was the last to get on. As he began to climb aboard however, the airman who helped the hostages up put up a hand to stop him. "Sorry Lieutenant, the Colonel is here to give you a lift. He wants to speak with you." 

"Roger, thanks." The masked soldier replied before stepping away so the helicopter could take off. As it began to rise above the ground the man could see a military vehicle a short distance away. He made his way over to the vehicle where a driver in combat gear and a man in military dress uniform with a red beret were waiting. The masked soldier got in the back seat with the Colonel. The man the removed his mask, revealing a bald man with a stern look. "Greetings High Priest." The Colonel greeted the man that just entered the vehicle. 

"Sir, i've said before you don't have to address me as that on the field." The High Priest responded. "High Priest or not i'm still your subordinate on the battlefield, so please address me as such."

"As you wish Lieutenant Malkiel." The Colonel responded. 

"You wished to speak with me Colonel Abdiel?" High Priest Eli Malkiel asked. 

"I did. There's a pair of exorcists here from the Vatican branch of Japan." The Colonel replied. 

"What do the Japanese want?" 

"No clue, I just know that they came looking for  the High Priest and said it was urgent." The Colonel answered. 

"Well this should be interesting."

* * *

After a short drive, the vehicle pulled into a military base just outside of Jerusalem. There were a few small buildings scattered around the site which included offices for the higher ranking officials, barracks, and a mess hall. The High Priest and Colonel stepped out of the back of the vehicle on opposing sides. After they began to head over to a tent where Yukio and Shura were waiting, the driver began to steer the vehicle towards the garage. The tent was a large and open. There was a table in the center of the tent that had plans and battlefield layouts spread across it. Yukio and Shura were both waiting side by side at one end when the two men entered. "Greetings." Colonel Abdiel greeted them as he and the High Priest entered the tent. "Welcome to our country." He said with open arms. "Now please, what brings you here seeking the High Priest?" 

"Are you the High Priest?" Yukio asked. 

"No, he is." The Colonel motioned towards Eli. "This is Lieutenant Eli Malkiel, the High Priest." 

"Sir." Eli spoke up. 

"Nice to meet you your holiness." Yukio greeted him. 

"Please, I require no such formalities. I am just a soldier serving my country." Eli responded. 

"Right, then lets get to it shall we? Are you familiar with Cain and Abel?" Yukio asked.

"Who isn't in this part of the world?" The Colonel answered.

"Well it seems that after a long time Cain has reappeared. He's going around collecting the souls of the Demon Kings in order to use their power to bring Satan into Assiah." Yukio told them.

"What?" The Colonel sounded horrified. Eli looked equally as surprised. "Is he mad? Will that even work?"

"We have suspicion to believe so. Worse still is he's already collected four out of the eight necessary." Yukio informed the two men. "We would like your assistance in helping us stop him High Priest." 

"Really? Well I have to ask, why come all the way out here? Doesn't the Vatican have enough support? Why not call in the Paladin?" Eli asked.

"Well, we not only need you we also need the relic you have." There was a short moment of silence that followed that. 

"I thought the relics were supposed to be kept secret." Eli finally responded in a somewhat harsh tone.

"They were. We found out about them after we found that Cain is in possession of one." Yukio replied. Both men gave surprised and somewhat fearful looks. 

"So he's in possession of a relic too? That must be how he's able to kill so many Demon Kings." Eli theorized. 

"That and he also attributed the fact that he's older that any of them. It seems he's been planning this for a long time." 

"Which means we don't have a lot of time to waste." Shura added. "We're going around looking for other relic bearers who can help us."

"How many have you assembled so far?" The Colonel asked. 

"So far none. Miss Kirigakure and I both came to ask for your help. We also have a party in Norway looking for whoever wields Mjolnir and two people attempting to retrieve the Shinto swords Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi." Yukio told him. "We asked the Paladin but he's unlikely to help us. So can we count on you instead?" Yukio turned his attention to the High Priest. Eli was silent for a moment, contemplating it before answering. 

"No." 

"What?" Yukio and Shura both responded in unison. 

"The answer is no. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do." With that the High Priest left the tent. 

"You're welcome to stay here if you'd like, just don't go wandering anywhere you shouldn't." The Colonel informed them before he departed the tent as well. Yukio let out a sigh.

"I hope the others are having better luck than we are."

* * *

Far away in Norway, the four students were climbing up a tall hill to a small house near a canyon. The house was a small modest log cabin sitting atop a flat portion of land near an open canyon. The area was mountainous around the cabin, and there wasn't anyone else around for miles. It was in an isolated and remote spot. The trek there had been long and mostly uphill. The four students were exhausted for the walk up there and were all out of breath. Outside the house a woman with long flowing blonde hair was splitting logs against a tree stump. She stopped her axe mid swing when she saw four people approaching. They usually did not get visitors their way, and especially not Japanese children.

"Hallo, what brings you children to our humble abode?" She greeted them in a polite voice as she set the head of the axe on the ground. 

"Excuse us, but we're looking for the Bjornard clan. Is that you?" Ryuji asked. 

"Aye, it is." She confirmed with a nod. "My name is Lilith Bjornard. How may I help you?" 

"We're looking for the relic Mjolnir. We went to the Museum of Norse Mythology and the curator told us to come find you." Izumo replied. 

"Oh, you're looking for my husband then." She told them with a smile. She turned her head to the cabin and put one hand on the side of her mouth to call out. "Olaf! We have visitors!" She called out. The front door to the cabin suddenly shot open and large and burly man was standing there. He had short but shaggy brown hair and a grown beard like a lumberjack. 

"Visitors you say?" He asked in a deep but jolly voice. "Well now who is it?" He stepped out of the house. 

"These children say they're looking for the bearer of Mjolnir." She answered. 

"Hmm, you kids know of Mjolnir?" He asked with a confused look. 

"Yes sir." Konekomaru nodded. "You see we're from the True Cross Academy, the Vatican's school in Japan. The other day our school was attacked by Cain, from the Bible. He's in possession of a relic and he's going around and trying to collect the souls of all the Demon Kings in order to give Satan a physical being in our realm." 

"Oh dear." Lilith responded sounding rather concerned. 

"We then learned about the relics and came here to ask if you'd help us stop this Cain guy." Ryuji added. "So will you help us?" Olaf gave a hearty laugh.

"Are you kidding? I'm a Norse warrior, i'd never pass up a chance like this." He replied with a wide grin. "In all my years I never thought i'd actually be able to bring Mjolnir into battle. It hasn't seen action in generations. Just give me a second." He then went back into house. There was some loud rummaging that could be heard outside. After a short moment he then exited the house once more, this time with a very large metal hammer in hand. There was two leather straps that twisted down and covered the handle of it. "Here is it, Mjolnir, the legendary hammer of the thunder god Thor." 

"Woah." The students all said in unison. 

"Is it powerful?" Konekomaru asked? 

"Is it powerful?" Olaf repeated in disbelief. "Let me show you." He turned around and walked towards the edge of the cliff. He brought the hammer up above its head and swung it at the ground on the edge of the cliff. There was a loud bang and a large bolt of lightning struck down at that spot. The rock at the edge of the cliff began to crumble and break off, leaving the new edge at his feet. 

"Holy crap!" Konekomaru shouted. Olaf turned around to them with the hammer slung over his shoulder and a smile on his face. 

"Now let's go find this Cain fellow." He said with a grin.

* * *

"But why not?" Yukio asked as he and Shura followed the High Priest around the base. "Why won't you help us?" 

"I've already told you, my help is needed more here." Eli responded emotionlessly. 

"More than stopping Satan from entering our realm?" Yukio questioned with disbelief. 

"Yes." Eli answered simply. "Because I know he's not going to be able to do it." 

"How can you be sure of that?" Eli let out a sigh before stopping and turning to face the two exorcists. 

"I can show you, but you both have to understand this is top secret and highly guarded information. If you try to tell anyone about this i'll have you held in this country and unable to leave. Is that clear?" Eli asked sternly. They were both a bit put off by his sudden seriousness but they both nodded. 

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." Shura confirmed. 

"Very well, follow me." Eli led them to another part of the base.

* * *

He ended up taking them to an elevator. It was a simple open this, separated from the open doorways only by a small fence gate. He ended up taking them down. They saw they passed two floors then ended up just seeing an elevator shaft for some time. Much longer than normal. "How far down are we going?" Shura asked. 

"Deep, far too deep for anything to get in or out that easy." Eli answered. That sounded rather mysterious but they both kept quiet. After awhile the elevator came to one last doorway and stopped. The metal gate open and Eli led them out. Bright lights suddenly turned on in the room. They saw there was one other figure in the room with them. A man was on his knees in the center of the room. His arms were outstretched in either direction and chained. There were also three sets of chains across his chest, each with a lock in the front. He was Lucifer, King of Light, and the most powerful of the eight Demon Kings. He raised his head and gave a tired smile. 

"Hello High Priest." 


	14. The Sun and the Moon

A train came to a halt in one of the many stations within Tokyo. A large number of passengers began to depart on one side as an equal number began to board on the other. Of those that stepped off the train, one was dressed in a black coat with black jeans, and had hair that partially covered his face. Next to him was a shorter blonde schoolgirl who looked rather nervous. She followed closely behind him. "Wow, i've never been to such a big city before." Shiemi stated nervously. 

"Just stay close to me, don't go wandering off." Rin casually ordered her. 

"Right." She nodded her head in agreement. She fell in step right behind Rin as he headed for the exit. The city itself was just as busy if not more than the train station. People were moving about in all directions and it was incredibly noisy. Shiemi felt even more nervous here than in the train station. She looked around the large open city with a frightened look. "Wow, it's even more crowded out here." She noticed. 

"Just stay close like I said and nothing will happen." Rin calmly reassured her. 

She nodded her head in agreement. She didn't stay more two steps away from him. She followed him very closely, and even then she still couldn't help but feeling nervous. She was not used to being around this many people. Not even her classes at True Cross were this bad. "So, um... Rin, where are we going?" 

"The Imperial Palace." He answered neutrally. "As far as I know, only the Emperor knows the location of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. Which means we'll have to request an audience with him and hope he accepts it." 

"And if he doesn't?" Shiemi asked. 

"Then we're out of luck." He replied blatantly. "If he won't see us or help us out then there's nothing more we can do. We'll have to give up and try to find one of the other relics elsewhere." Shiemi didn't reply after that. It was all or nothing. She could only hope that everything would turn out ok. Her mind began to wander as to where the others were.

* * *

"What... what is this?" Yukio asked completely stupefied. 

" _That_ is the most powerful of the Demon Kings. Lucifer, King of Light." Eli, the High Priest, answered. 

"You mean you've been keeping him locked down here?" Shura asked in disbelief. "For how long?" 

"A few centuries ago the High Priest at that time defeated him in battle. Rather than allowing him to dispel and return after some time he took the Demon King prisoner and locked him up far underground." Eli told them. "Those three locks were crafted by a master exorcist and have been suppressing his powers even since." 

"I haven't had the honor of the High Priest visiting me in ages." Lucifer commented rather sarcastically. "I knew who you were once I felt the presence of that damned infernal contraption." 

"You're wearing it?" Yukio asked. Eli nodded and lifted up the bottom of his desert camouflaged military shirt. Underneath was a gold chest plate with nine colored gems across it, and a tan t-shirt underneath that.

"I'm always wearing it. It works just as well against bullets as it does demonic energy." He told them as he fixed his uniform. "This thing has saved me from more than a few snipers." 

"Would it protect you against me though?" Lucifer asked. 

"I'm willing to bet it would, but that doesn't mean i'm going to let you out to test that theory." Eli shot back. 

"Darn." The Demon King replied halfheartedly. 

"High Priest, don't you know what this means?" Yukio asked. "Cain is going to come right to your doorstep and attack this base in order to retrieve Lucifer." 

"Let him try." Eli dismissed his warning. "The  higher-ups know what's in this place and they'd send the whole military here to defend it." 

"Don't get too cocky." Shura warned him. "The relic he has is the Fist of Osiris. He's able to resurrect his own army, that's how he did it when he attacked True Cross. His guys seemed to be special forces too, they were no run of the mill soldiers."

"He may try if he'd like, that still won't be enough to stop all of our might." Eli replied without a second thought. 

"Are you really going to put all your hopes on this?" Yukio questioned him. "Are you so sure that you could really withstand an attack? What if you're wrong, what if Cain gets through your defenses and..." 

"He **won't** get through." Eli stated rather confidently. "Just remember what I told you two, not a word of this to anybody." He warned them before heading past them for the elevator. "Now if you don't mind I have to take you two back up so that I can get back to work. 

"Farewell High Priest, you really should visit more often." Lucifer called out before they departed. 

* * *

"We're here." Rin told Shiemi as they reached the grounds to the Imperial Palace. There were at the end of a bridge that crossed the moat surrounding the grounds of the Imperial Palace. There were people coming and going to see the palace. Many local visitors and tourists visited daily. Shiemi was still nervous but she had done as Rin had said and stayed close. She continued to do so as he began to make his way across the bridge towards the palace grounds. 

"So what do we do once we get in?" Shiemi asked. 

"We have to head for the Emperor's quarters within the palace grounds." He replied. "We have to request to see the Emperor and tell him that it's an urgent matter. If he won't see us, then we're out of luck." 

"Do you think he will?" She asked with concern.

"I don't know." Rin replied dully. "We'll just have to see." Shiemi lowered her head and began to think about what could happen. She thought that if he would listen and give them the swords then Rin would put them to good use. She had see first hand his skills in combat, she knew he'd be perfect to wield them. But if the Emperor wouldn't listen to them or refused to relinquish the relics then there was nothing more they could do. They'd have to look elsewhere for another relic and hope that didn't set them too far back. Cain was still moving forward with his own plan and they had to stop him as soon as possible. If not, the consequences would be dire. 

"Excuse me, you two!" A woman's voice called out politely to them. Shiemi came out of her trance and turned around with Rin. A woman with black hair in a bob cut and dressed in a suit approached them. What was surprising though was she was accompanied by Arthur A. Angel, the Paladin. "This is them correct?" She asked the Paladin.

"Yes, that's them." Arthur told.

"What are you doing here?" Rin asked as the two of them approached him and Shiemi. 

"Despite my own wishes the Grigori have decided to aid you in your quest for the other relics. I have set up an appointment for you with the Emperor." He informed them begrudgingly, clearly not wanting to be doing it. 

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Rin showed his gratitude, despite his bored monotone. 

"As I said, it wasn't my decision." Arthur reminded him rather coldly. "The Grigori are still debating about the use of the nails, so we'll just have to wait and see about that. As for now you two have a meeting to get to." Arthur then headed for the bridge to exit the grounds. 

"The Emperor is waiting for you in the tea house, this way please." The woman then began to lead Rin and Shiemi towards the tea house. They were lead through one of the gardens on the ground. It was a very pretty and scenic area. Shiemi especially enjoyed it. She began to take notice of all the plants, shrubs, and trees around them. She was glad she was able to see the Imperial Garden while she was there. In the middle of the garden area there was a small structure atop a small hill. The woman led them up to it. She stopped outside the sliding shoji doors. "The Emperor is waiting for you inside." She told them while motioning towards the door with her hands. Rin nodded to her and opened the door, Shiemi followed right behind him. 

The inside was a single open room. In the center was a low sitting Japanese tea table with a man sitting on the other side. That was the Emperor. He was a shorter elderly man with wispy gray hair that seemed to be balding. Even though it was a more traditional setting he was dressed in a grey suit. He smiled as his two guests enter. "Ah, you must be Rin Okumura and Shiemi Moriyama." He greeted them. "Please, come, sit." His two guests did as he asked, going over to sit on two very low chairs across from him. 

There were three tea cups on the table, one in front of each seat. The Emperor offered to pour for them first, which they both graciously accepted. Shiemi poured for him and he thanked her with a kind smile. "Now then, what brings you two here? I was told by the Paladin that this was an urgent matter, and he's not someone to take lightly. So, what is this urgent matter?"

"Your highness, we request that you give us the swords Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi." Rin asked. "Cain, the figure from the Bible, has acquired another relic and intends to bring Satan into our realm." 

The Emperor made a sour face. "Hmm, that does sound like quite an urgent matter." He replied. "An evil man has acquired a relic, one of the most powerful items on this earth, and you wish to fight him with another relic." 

"That's right." Rin nodded. "We've also got people looking for others in Jerusalem and Norway." 

"Ah, so gathering forces." The Emperor remarked. "Well before I give them to you I hope you don't mind answering a few questions. For starters, the Paladin told me that you are an offspring of Satan. Is this true?" 

"Yes." Rin answered right away without any emotion. 

"Then tell me, why do you wish to fight against your father?" 

"He is not my father." Rin shot back as politely as he could. "I had a father, his name was Shiro Fujimoto. He was killed by Satan, and for  that I will never forgive him. Ever since that day I swore i'd get my revenge at fight against Satan." 

"Hmm..." The Emperor thought for a second. "Are you so sure that is what you want? Confucius did say that when one goes on a journey of revenge he must first dig two graves. Are you sure this quest for revenge will not end up destroying you?" Rin was silent for a moment before giving his answer. 

"I don't know." He replied, now holding his head down a bit and seeming to stare off. "Truthfully I think it's already changed me. After my father died my twin brother left me too, I was on my own for five years after that. I attended True Cross in order to strengthen myself even more, to learn all I could about exorcism. I saw my brother again there, he was my teacher... I hated him." Rin stated coldly. "After all those years I still hated him, I blamed him for abandoning me and for causing me to end up how I did. Then one day he found out my true intentions. I was going to kill Satan in order to take over his realm and control it so that no one would get hurt by demons ever again. He tried to stop, he knew it was futile. But I didn't listen, instead we fought and in my rage and I severed one of his arms. If I look back on how I was back then, I don't even recognize myself anymore." He stared down at his cup of tea silently. 

"If you realize you are wrong why not change it?" The Emperor asked. 

"Because I can't go back now." Rin answered. "I've gone too far and spent too much time on this to just give up. I'm done with trying to replace Satan and me and my brother have made amends. But i'm not done fighting Satan, i'll never stop. Because if I do, then everything i've tried so hard on will wasted. That's why I won't stop, I still have something I need to do. It is my purpose." The Emperor contemplated this for a minute. 

"I see... would you both kindly remove your cups from the table?" He asked with a smile. Rin and Shiemi both found this odd but they obliged, taking hold of their cups. The Emperor took his own in one hand, and with the other he pressed a secret button underneath the table. The table and a square section of the floor underneath it began to suddenly turn. The section of floor flipped all the way around so that the table was now underneath and there was something else in its place. A sword stand with two swords on it was now between the Emperor and his two guests. He set his cup down on the floor and approached them. "This is Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. The two swords of the Shinto religion." He stated before taking them. He then walked over to his two guests. "You show promise Rin Okumura, though I fear your heart is in a dark place. Nonetheless, I believe you to be a good person and that you will do good with these. So I pass them onto you in hopes that you will slay this great enemy and save us all. Do me proud Rin Okumura." After his short speech hen handed Rin the two swords. 

One was in a black scabbard, and the handle outside had a black braid with bright shining gold pegs and a gold buttcap. That was Amaterasu, the sword with the power of the sun. The other was also in a black scabbard, but had silver braids across the handle. The pegs and buttcap on this one were made of pearl. That one was Tsukuyomi and it held the power of the moon. Rin stood up before he accepted the swords. When he took them he bowed to the Emperor. 

"Thank you your highness, I will not let you down." Rin promised as he took the swords. The Emperor smiled as he handed over two of the most powerful weapons in Japan. 

"I believe that you will."

* * *

About and hour after receiving the swords and leaving the Imperial Palace, Rin and Shiemi were on a small motor boat that was making its way for a small uninhabited island off the coast from the Tokyo Bay. Rin sat in the front of the small boat with Shiemi right behind him. He now had Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi on his belt where Kurikara and Ginkaze once were. Shiemi was now holding his two other swords in her hand. The boat ride was a little under half an hour before they arrived. Tokyo was well out of sight by then no one would be likely to come by. The island was so small that you could see through the small amount of trees and see the shore on the other side. 

The boat pulled up to a stop just off shore and Rin and Shiemi got off on the beach. "Are you sure this is the spot?" The man who took them over asked. 

"Yes." Rin answered him dryly. "Don't worry, we have a ride coming to pick us up. Thank you very much for your service."

The man shrugged. "If you say so." He accepted what he was told. The boat then sped off back towards Tokyo bay. 

"Rin, what are we doing here?" Shiemi asked. 

"I might be able to track Cain's progress, but I have to do this where no one will see." He answered as he began to make his way to the other side of the island. 

"Umm... ok." She replied as she began to follow him. Once he got to the other shore he pulled out a new notepad and began to write in it. 

"Hear me creature of the cold and icy black, most fowl from the dark depths, come forth and share with me your power. I summon thee, terror of the sevens seas." 

With that there was some bubbling in the ocean in front of him. A massive white sea monster in the shape of a serpent with a dragon's head rose out of the water. Shiemi looked up in terror. Her familiar Nee who was on her shoulder had the exact same look on his face. "Rin, wh-what is that?" She asked fearfully. 

"That's Leviathan, one of the Demon Princes." Rin answered. 

"Demon Princes? Huh, where have I heard that before?" She wondered aloud. 

"Remember Gomorrah?" Rin asked blankly. 

"Oh!" She raised a finer as it came to her. "That's right! Yuki and Professor Tsubaki called him that."

"That's because he's the son of one of the eight Demon Kings." Rin told her. "In Gehenna the hierarchy works like this. Satan is on the top, he rules as the Lord of Gehenna. Beneath him are his sons the eight Demon Kings. Their children are the Demon Princes, there are about twenty of them. Their children are the Demon Nobles and there's 112 of them. Besides that there are just the lower level demons that fall under the kin of one of the eight kings. Leviathan is the son of Egyn, the Demon King of Water." 

"Why have you summoned me here Okumura?" Leviathan asked in a loud booming voice. 

"I need to ask you something." Rin turned to the large Demon Prince and looked up at him. "Can you tell us where your father is?"

"Hmm..." Leviathan stared at his summoner for a moment. "Why exactly are you trying to find my father?" 

"Cain has acquired a relic and is using it gather the souls of the eight Demon Kings. He's already taken down four of them, I need to know if your father is one of them or if you can even sense his energy." 

"Hm, I see, so that's it. Well to answer your question I can sense all of the Demon Kings. I can tell you who he's killed and who he hasn't." Leviathan answered. 

"Then please do that. I want to know who's dead besides Samael and Amaimon." 

"You know they're dead?" Leviathan asked. 

"I killed Amaimon myself and Cain took his soul. I watched him kill our headmaster Mephisto, who I know was really Samael." Rin replied. 

"Very well, give me a moment to focus." Leviathan closed his eyes and went silent for a moment. "I see..." He then opened his yellow eyes once more. "I regret to inform you that only two Demon Kings remain, Beelzebub and Lucifer." 

"Tch." Rin gritted his teeth. "He works fast."

"If two of the four left were my father and Iblis then it is likely he took them out at the same time in the middle of one of their battles. They always were trying to prove who was better." 

"We don't have any time to waste." Rin remarked as he suddenly pulled out his phone. He dialed up a number and put the phone to his ear. It rung twice before someone answered. 

" _Hello?_ " Ryuji answered on the other end. 

"Bon, this is Rin." Rin spoke into the phone. "I just found out Cain's killed two more Demon Kings, he's only got two to go. We don't have any time to spare, did the bearer agree?"

" _What?! Already?_ " Ryuji responded in shock. " _Yeah, he agreed to help us. Seemed enthusiastic about it to be honest._ " 

"Good, i'll call Yukio and see if the High Priest is on our side too." Rin pressed a button and hung up before dialing Yukio's number. 

* * *

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, Yukio and Shura were once more in the same tent with the High Priest and Colonel Abdiel. 

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do to change your mind?" Yukio asked one last time. 

"I'm sorry but the High Priest has made up his mind. I stand with him that Cain will not succeed as long as we have Lucifer." Colonel Abdiel stated. Yukio sighed. Then his cell phone began to ring. He took it from his pocket and saw that it was Rin who was calling. 

"Ah, just a moment please." He told the two soldiers. He answered it and put it up to his ear. "What is it Rin?"

" _Cain just took out two more Demon Kings, we need to move. Did you get the High Priest to agree?_ " Rin asked stoically. 

"No." Yukio answered plainly. 

" _Why not?_ " Rin seemed to be demanding. 

"Well... i'm not really allowed to say." Yukio replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Who is that?" The Colonel asked. 

"Ah, that's my brother Rin." Yukio answered. "He's my brother, he's the one who knew about the relics and had the idea to find the other bearers."

"Put him on speaker." Eli told him. Yukio did so with the click of a button. He then held the phone in front of him face up so that everyone could hear. "You are Rin Okumura, correct?" Eli asked. 

" _Who is this?_ " 

"This is Eli Malkiel, the High Priest." Eli introduced himself. "I'm here to tell you that you have nothing to worry about, Cain will not succeed in his quest."

" _How can you know that?_ " Rin questioned him. 

"Because we have Lucifer right here." Eli told him. "It's a highly guarded secret and I told your two friends not to talk about it and the same goes for you. Rest assured, this facility is highly guarded and can withstand any attack thrown at it." There was some low mumbling heard from the other end.

" _Damn it!_ " Rin cursed. 

"What was that?" The Colonel asked. 

" _That was my familiar, Leviathan. He said Beelzebub's presence just faded. Now Lucifer is the last one._ " 

"Did you say Leviathan?" 

" _That's not important right now._ " Rin ended the subject for the time being. " _If only one is left that means he's on his way to you right now._ " 

"Be that as it may, he won't get in so easy. He'll have to take on the entire might of the Israeli Army before he gets in." Eli dismissed the threat. 

" _You are aware he has a relic right?_ " Rin asked. " _And exactly which one he has._ "

"Yes, the Fist of Osiris. Capable of resurrecting the dead. I assume you're afraid he'll raise up an army to stand against us. Even so I doubt it'll be enough to get through our defense. Our men are all highly trained and capable soldiers, they alone will not let him in." There was a short pause before Rin responded. 

" _Are you an idiot?_ " 

"Excuse me?" Eli sounded offended. 

"Rin, what are you-" Yukio tried to question him.

" _He's not going raise an army of special forces this time to get to Lucifer._ " Rin told the High Priest. 

"How can you be sure of that." The Colonel asked. 

" _Because as much as I hate to say it he and I are a lot alike. He thinks the same way I do and I know exactly what he'll do._ " Rin answered, sounding a bit angry at admitting to being like Cain. " _He's not going to create a trained force or an overwhelmingly large one. He's going to bring back the recently dead from your own forces, no one that's been dead long enough to be forgotten. He's going to make your men fight people they know, fight their own comrades. Their friends, their family, anyone they might know.It'll be psychological warfare. The soldiers will be too distraught to fight back properly._ " The tent room was silent after that. The creeping realization of what Rin just told them was sinking in. Then just to verify it, an alarm suddenly went off. 

"We're under attack!" Colonel Abdiel shouted. 

" _It's too late._ " There was a click as Rin hung up and the line went dead. 


	15. The Last One

It was madness all around the base. The attack was coming in from two different sides. The base itself was a square area with one main gate that served as the entrance and exit. Now that gate was blown open and forces were swarming in. On the side left of the gate a large part of the chainlink fence was blown up. Enemy forces were coming in through both sides and already starting to overtake the base. Many soldiers on duty were too shocked to fight back. Not because their base so close to Jerusalem was under attack, but because of who was attacking it. The invading forces were all dressed in the same uniforms as the men at the base, and were armed with the same weapons. The only difference was that invading forces all had grey skin with black and green eyes. They were clearly not human.

Yet the Israeli soldiers could still tell who they were fighting. Some even recognized the men fighting against them. 

"Shimon? Shimon is that you?" A soldier stepped out of cover when he recognized one of the enemy soldiers. The ghoul soldier, armed with an M4 rifle, turned towards the man who was now approaching him. "You're alive?" The soldier softly asked in shock. 

"What are you doing you idiot? Get back here!" One of his comrades shouted out. By that point it was too late however. The resurrected soldier opened fire on his once friend and riddled him with bullets. The Israeli soldier flinched a few times from the shots before falling backwards. "No!" The soldier who had tried to warn him shot down the resurrected soldier. Though he did die once more, in the end it had to effect. More and more soldiers began to swarm into the base. Far more than they were prepared for. 

The High Priest and Colonel Abdiel took cover behind a Humvee. Yukio and Shura joined them shortly. Yukio had both of his guns drawn, and Shura with her sword. She knew it wouldn't be very effective in this situation, but it was better than nothing. "Damn, looks like there's more than we expected." Colonel Abdiel observed. He clicked off the safety on his Uzi. 

"It doesn't matter. We have to hold them off." Eli responded. He chambered a around into his Galil SAR carbine. He popped out from cover and fired a couple bursts. He ended up taking down two soldiers before hiding behind cover again. Yukio peeked around the back end of the Humvee and looked for a target. He took notice of one in particular, just casually walking through the middle of the invading forces. As he was making his way through the chaos, Yukio could see his right hand. He recognized the stone glove on it. 

"Hit that one!" Yukio shouted right before opening fire. Both Israeli men were trained soldiers and were able to identify which one he meant and opened fire on him. Cain spun around in a flash and swatted all of the bullets away with superhuman speed. He then rushed right in for the Humvee. 

"Move!" The Colonel shouted. All of them moved out of the way and Cain came at the vehicle full force. With one swift open palm strike he sent it off its wheels and spinning sideways multiple times until it crashed into a building. Everyone managed to get out of the way in time, diving different directions. Eli landed on one hand and flipped himself upright while the others all landed face down and had to quickly get back up. Cain looked around at the small group that had just attacked him. One person stood out.

"You again?" Cain casually noted Yukio's presence. He then casually took off his mask and threw it to the ground, revealing the mark of evil. "I suppose you and your brother are going to be insistent about getting in my way." 

"You know, you sound a lot like he used to." Yukio commented. 

"So i've heard. I suppose that's because he too has seen the dark side of the world." Cain replied. 

"That doesn't make you right you know. There are a lot of people who have been wronged, not all of them seek revenge like you do." 

"That's because they are too weak too." Cain retorted. "Your brother, the false king, was one of the few strong enough to right what was wronged. I respect that, even though I do not fully understand him." 

"False king? What's he talking about?" Eli asked. 

"Oh no, you didn't tell them?" Cain asked in mock surprise. "His brother is the spawn of Satan. He is part demon and has the powers of such." Eli glanced over to Yukio, who was gritting his teeth. "Figured you leave that out did you?" 

"I thought it'd be better not to mention it." Yukio calmly replied. 

"It doesn't matter now." Eli cut in. He unzipped his camouflage uniform and threw it to the ground, revealing the relic underneath. "We are going to stop you here and now. You'll never make it out of this base." 

"I've had enough talking anyway." Cain muttered. He dashed for the High Priest at full speed. Eli held his rifle to the side and caught the attack on his breastplate. Though it protected him from what would have been an otherwise fatal attack, he was still sent sliding back  a few meters from the force of the attack. Once he stopped, he held up his rifle and fired. Cain cartwheeled out of the way and then flipped to dodge more bullets. Yukio began to fire too with his pistol. Cain backflipped up into the air and spun a few times. He landed right behind Yukio, with the two of them back to back. Before Yukio could react, Cain's gloved hand came up to his face. Cain grabbed hold of him and threw him forwards. Yukio flew through the air and crashed into a few wooden crates that broke on impact, leaving him in a small cloud of dust. 

Shura rushed in with her sword. She slashed at him diagonally twice. Both times he ducked to dodge them. She then brought her sword overheard and went for a downward strike. Cain blocked it with the wrist of his glove. With his other hand he punched her in the stomach and knocked the wind out of her. She hunched over from the force of the impact. Cain then hit her again in the same spot with his gloved hand, followed up by a backflip that ended up kicking her in the bottom of the jaw and sending her straight up. Right after he landed on his feet, Cain jumped straight up and grabbed Shura by the ankle, then throwing her to the ground. She was no longer able to move after reviving such a swift and brutal series of attacks. 

The High Priest opened fire once more. Cain deflected the bullets with his glove. Once Eli had to reload, Cain rushed in at full speed. He delivered a swift elbow into the chest of the High Priest, followed by and uppercut with that same elbow. Eli flew backwards and landed on the ground unconscious. Colonel Abdiel opened fired on him with his Uzi submachine gun. Cain rolled forwards towards the unconscious Eli. When he landed on his feet he took the Ka-bar knife from the unconscious High Priest and threw it at the Colonel. The blade flew straight through the air and landed in the Colonel's right thigh. He yelled in pain and Cain moved in on him. He grabbed the back of Abdiel's head and made him bend over before delivering a swift knee to the face, followed by a spinning heel kick that sent him flying off sideways. The Colonel hit hit head on the side of a building and fell down as well. Cain looked around at his defeated opponents. He then looked around to see the chaos his forces were creating. Israeli soldiers still in shock from what was happening, some even being driven mad by the events taking place. Cain then took his leave and headed for the secret elevator.

* * *

In his dark dungeon, Lucifer kneeled helplessly and his arms were restrained in either direction and a set of three holy locks kept him weakened. He had spent five centuries in that hell and was ready for it to end. Thankfully for him, his day had come. The lights suddenly turned on in the room as he heard the elevator arrive. The metal gate opened and he heard footsteps approach. A man in a red cloak approached. Lucifer instantly noticed the heavily deformed left side of his face. "Ah, Cain I presume?" He greeted him with a smile. 

"You are correct." Cain answered. 

"Well, what on earth brings you here? I wouldn't think the guards would even let you in." 

"I had to use a little aggressive persuasion." Cain replied. "I'm here for your soul." 

"Oh? Shouldn't you at least take me out to dinner first?" Lucifer asked. 

"I have the souls of all your brothers already, you are the last one. With your combined power I am going to give Satan physical form so he can destroy this twisted world and God can do nothing but watch." 

"I see... well that please, go ahead and take it." Lucifer told him. 

"You _want_ me to kill you?" Cain asked. 

"It's not my first choice, but I would gladly give my life if that is your plan. I think I like that dram of yours, Assiah and Gehenna merging as one. So I would let you kill me for that. Not that I exactly have much of a choice in this position." He joked. 

"Hmm, I wish the others were more like you." Cain responded as he raised his hand backwards to strike.

* * *

Yukio awoke as he was being treated by battlefield medics. Two soldiers in uniforms with red crosses across their arms were bandaging him up and treating his wounds with antibiotics. Yukio began to sit up and held a hand to his head. He felt a little dizzy and lightheaded yet. "Sir, please try not to move to much." One of the medics instructed him. Yukio looked around to see the situation. There were no more of Cain's forces, at least not that were alive. Bodies of the dead on both sides littered the ground. The mental toll it had on the soldiers could still be seen. One man was on his knees and crying distraught over a body.

"Why? How could this happen?!" He shouted. "He was here, he was here after being dead and now he's gone again!" 

"My... my brother." Another muttered to himself as he sat against a wall. His gave looked far off, like he was a million miles away. "He... he was just here and I... oh god I killed him! I killed my only brother!" 

Yukio had to look away after that. It only brought back his own bad memories. He looked down at his prosthetic arm in deep thought for a moment. Once he snapped out of it he looked around to find the High Priest. Eli was sitting up against a wall, his bandages already tended to. He was gripping his sheathed knife rather tightly. "So, have you changed your mind yet?" Yukio called out to him. Eli looked over to him after hearing him speak. His answer came shortly after. 

"Yes." He nodded. "Let's find this bastard and put him down." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the later update than usual, and a short chapter at that. I've been caught up with finals lately but I have a bit of a break now. Only a few chapters to go so i'm going to try and get those done sooner now. Thanks everyone for reading and for your comments, and I hope you enjoy these last few chapters.


	16. The Ritual

Yukio, Shura, and Eli exited their flight and entered the airport where they arrived at. At soon as they were patched up they got on the next flight back to Japan. Their flight had arrived in Osaka and they needed to head back to the academy to regroup. Colonel Abdiel stayed behind to try and clean up the mess Cain had made and see to his men. Many were still in the infirmary or no longer mentally stable enough to continue on with their service. The effects were devastating. Besides that had transpired there Cain now had all eight souls of the Demon Kings. He could now summon Satan into Assiah. They were running out of time. 

"We are we headed?" Eli asked as they made their way through the crowded airport. 

"We have to head back to True Cross Academy. I'm sure the others are already there waiting." Yukio replied. 

"Hey Yuki!" A girl's voice called out. The three of them looked over to see Shiemi waving at them. Rin was with her, leaning against a wall right behind her. 

"Miss Moriyama." Yukio greeted her as he led the others that direction. He noticed she was holding something, something long and wrapped in a red blanket. Two swords perhaps. "Did you find them?" Yukio asked. Rin got off of the wall and turned to show the two new swords on his belt. 

"Right here." He replied in a calm and collected manner. 

"Good, we have them then. Where are the others?" Yukio asked. 

"They're back at the academy. We're going to meet them there." Rin replied. 

"Then lets hurry, we don't have much time." Yukio then started heading for the exit to the terminal. Rin followed right next to him. 

"I was looking through my scrolls to see if they mentioned anything about summoning Satan. I found something." Rin told his brother. 

"What is it?" Yukio turned his head to ask.

"We have a chance to stop Cain, but just one. I'll explain later but we're going to have to give it everything we've got." 

"Are three relic bearers going to be enough?" Yukio asked. 

"It's all we've got. We'll have to make it work." Rin replied in a dulled voice. 

"I take it you must be the child of Satan then?" Eli asked from behind. Rin turned his head back towards the man as they all continued to walk. 

"I am, that's not going to be a problem is it?" Rin asked in a calm but threatening manner. 

"No, so long as you don't cross us." Eli replied.

"Good. Because i'd hate to have to beat up another high ranking religious official. The Paladin already learned the hard way to not take me lightly."

Eli smirked. "I would have loved to have been there to see that."

* * *

After a short drive from Osaka to True Cross Academy, the five of them had then entered the cram school where the others students along with Olaf, the relic bearer of Mjolnir, were waiting. They were waiting in a conference room within the hidden cram school. Yukio and Shura led the rest of their group to the conference room. Once they stepped inside they found not only the other students waiting along with Olaf, but the Paladin as well. "What are you doing here?" Shura questioned him the moment she saw him. Arthur let out a sigh.

"Because despite my own wishes the Griogri have decided that my talents are best used helping the lot of you." Arthur answered in an irritated tone of voice. 

"Oh, how awful you work with anyone besides yourself." Eli mocked. 

"See, he gets it!" Arthur exclaimed. "It is at least good to see you again High Priest. You've proven yourself capable." 

"Yes, I don't lose to fifteen year old children." Rin glanced over to the High Priest. 

"Hmph, trust me when I say don't underestimate him." Arthur responded, trying to hide his bruised ego. 

"Alright, enough of this." Yukio cut in. "We need to focus on the matter at hand." 

"Aye, I came  all this way here for a battle worthy of bringing out Mjolnir!" Olaf shouted out, eager to see some action. 

"Soon." Rin told him. 

"Rin, you said you think we have one last chance to stop him?" Yukio asked his brother.

"That's right." Rin nodded. "I found something when I was looking through some of my ancient scrolls." 

Arthur stared at him dumbfounded. "Where have you been for the last five years?" Rin ignored him.

"It seems that the ritual that Cain intends to preform on order to bring Satan into Assiah is rather complex. He needs seven trained necromancers, something i'm sure he can find with the powers of his relic. However, he requires a large area in order to preform the ritual. Too large to be in any secluded or indoor spot. Wherever he does it, whenever he does it we'll know. There's no way he'll be able to to keep it secret. It's then that we'll have to hit him with everything we've got." 

"So this is our last chance then?" Ryuji asked to confirm what Rin was saying. 

"That's right." Rin replied dully with a nod. "It's going to be all or nothing."

"He's probably not going to leave himself unguarded then." Yukio noted. "We'll have to find a way to clear through Cain's forces so the relic bearers can get to him. You guys need to just focus on him." 

"Did these scrolls of yours say how long we've got?" Arthur asked. 

"Unfortunately no. It could be an hour or it could be five minutes. So we'll have to work fast." Rin answered. 

"Ha, I look forward to this battle!" Olaf cried out in joy. "It'll be a fight to remember!" 

"Hmm, it certainly will be." Eli commented.

* * *

A short while later, Rin was standing atop the roof of the old dorm that he had stayed in. After the meeting all they could do was wait until Cain made his move. Though he didn't show it, this upset Rin. He hated sitting around and waiting, he was the type of person who wanted to act. But there was nothing he could do in this situation. All any of them could do was wait around until the ritual started. This also upset Rin because he knew the type of person Cain was. He was a schemer, he made plans and prepared before acting. It was like a game of chess to him. 

Though Rin knew there was little chance Cain could actually manage to pull anything considering the size needed to preform the ritual. Still, it wasn't impossible either. Cain had spent thousands of years preparing for this, he was well prepared and had plenty of time to prepare. They already had little time to make this work and couldn't spend resources searching everywhere for him. They had to gather all the forces they could and strike while the iron was hot. They had to react rather than act on their own. It was not something Rin was used to.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to the roof opened. He turned around to see Shiemi had now joined him on the roof. "Shiemi, what are you doing here?" He asked in his stoic and unfeeling voice. 

"I heard you were up here and wanted to come see you." She responded, now approaching him and coming over to his side. "Are you worried?"

"No." He answered plainly. "Just a bit irritated. I don't like waiting around like this." 

"Oh, I see..." She replied a bit sheepishly. "Well there's nothing else we can do right? We just have to wait until he makes his move." 

"I know, but I still don't like it." Rin repeated. There was a short moment of silence between them. 

"Rin." Shiemi looked over to him. "After this is all over, you... you aren't going to leave again are you?" 

"No, why?" He asked blankly. 

"Because I don't want you to leave again." She answered, looking away and blushing a bit. "Honestly, I was really concerned for you after you left. Everyday I wondered if you were ok and when you might return. That's why I don't want you to leave again." 

"Shiemi." Rin turned towards her completely now. "As I said before, I want to protect you. So I won't leave like that again. Besides..." He looked over the edge once more. "I think I figured out what I wanted to know." 

The door to the roof suddenly slammed open, causing them both to turn their heads quickly. Yukio was now standing inside the doorway. 

"Cain's starting the ritual, it's taking place in the center of the city's park." He told the two of them. Rin turned towards the door and began heading out. 

"Let's finish this." 

* * *

Cain stood watching over the ritual in the center of the park. It had a large circular stone area just large enough to preform the ritual. Drawn on the ground was an octagram, an eight points star with each point sticking just outside of a circle. There was also a smaller circle drawn around each point of the star. The lines of the drawing were glowing pink. Each point held one of the souls of the Demon Kings. They were small bright sky blue orbs off light that hovered a couple feet off the ground. A small stream of blue energy came of each one and slowly flowed into the center of the star and circle. There were also two necromancers, tamers who studied under the dark arts long ago, at each point. All of them where chanting in unison. They were all speaking Latin, leaving many unfamiliar with what they were saying. 

Cain understood them though. He had been on the earth so long he had seen the language of Latin come and go. The same went for empires and kingdoms. He had seen many civilizations rise and fall in his time. He was cursed to be shunned from them though. The mark on his face made sure of that. He had wandered the earth alone and immortal as a punishment for killing his own brother. That was the original sin, the first evil brought into the world. At one point Cain had repented and wished for forgiveness. However, after a few centuries sorrow gave into anger. He swore his revenge on his creator and punisher instead. Thousands of years of planning had gone into this and he was so close.

Still, he had enemies and he knew it. The Vatican, the False King and his friends, and now the Israelis as well. But soon none of that would matter. Satan would be given physical form and he would destroy all of the countries man had created. Assiah and Gehenna would be merge into one once the humans were weakened enough. Then Cain's vengeance would be complete. The god that had punished him could only sit up there and watch while his creation was assimilated. 

Still, Cain had not taken any chances. He had brought up a whole army and had them stationed all around the park. There was no way someone would try to get to the ritual without him knowing. He made sure he was well guarded and well prepared. This was a critical moment, and his plan was vulnerable at this point. After coming so far he _had_ to make sure nothing would interrupt the ritual. 

"M'lord." One of the soldiers approached Cain and took a knee. He was dressed in the robes of Chaos Order, just like Cain and all his resurrected subjects. "Enemy forces approach from the east. They have other relic bearers with them." 

"I see..." Cain replied. This was not something he had expected. He had wondered why he saw those two in Israel when he retrieved Lucifer's soul. Know he knew, they were gathering other relic bearers to band against him. That was something he was not expecting. "How many are there?" 

"It seems the entire Japanese branch of the Vatican is here." The soldier reported. 

"I meant how many other relics." Cain told him.

"Four sir, the Shinto swords, Mjolnir, the High Priest and his breastplate, and the Paladin with the nails. The False King wields the swords." 

"Does he now?" Cain sounded a bit intrigued. "Very well, take me to them. You are to hold off their men for as long as possible. Leave the relic bearers to me."

"Yes sir." 

* * *

The four relic bearers stood on top of a hill that looked down to the east side of the park. The center was blocked off by a large hedge, but they could see the energy coming from it. Blue and pink light glowed from the center as the ritual went on. They all knew they had to stop what was going on in there as soon as possible. The ground to the center looked damaged and as if some explosives had gone off. Instead of the normal green grass there was now only brown dirt and black and gray ash. It looked more like a wasteland than a park at this point. Behind the four of them stood all of the exorcists within Japan. They had all been given an emergency call and debriefed on the situation when they arrived. They all stood armed and ready, waiting for the enemy forces to appear. "It's quiet." Eli remarked "This kind of quiet makes me nervous."

"Maybe he didn't think we were coming." Ryuji, who was standing with his classmates near the four of them, suggested. 

"I doubt it." Rin replied. "Cain's not prideful of brash. He's a strategist, he'll expect us to be here." 

"Then let's not let him down!" Olaf said as he lifted Mjolnir into his hands. Eli took off his uniform shirt and discarded it on the ground, revealing the tan t-shirt and jeweled breastplate underneath. Arthur let out a sigh and he took out the nails. They were two very large nails that looked like they would be used for carpentry. He took a deep breath and stabbed one into his right hand first. He pushed it in all the way as he was supposed to do. However, nothing came out the other side. He simply pushed it in until the head was flat against his hand and the pain then vanished. He did the same with the other hand and let out a gasp of pain. 

"Damn, that hurt!" He swore from the pain, even though it quickly subsided. 

"Rin, are you going to need these?" Shiemi asked as she had his other two swords strapped over her back. 

"No, I should be able to control the flames of Amaterasu the same as my demonic ones." Rin answered. "Just hold onto them, and don't draw Kurikara." 

"Why now?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion. 

"Because it's linked directly to my power. If you draw it the flames will engulf you as well and they will most likely destroy you. If you need to the use Ginkaze, but whatever you do don't draw Kurikara, got it?" Shiemi gulped at the thought of being burned alive. 

"G-got it." 

"Here they come!" An exorcist not far shouted. Sure enough, a swarm of men in red robes with the same distraught mask over each of their faces began to flood the east side of the park. They all packed in tight and aimed M4 rifles up the hill at the enemy forces. Soon the whole east side seemed to be flooded with the ghoul soldiers as they stood prepared for battle. In the back against the hedge around the center Cain stood, watching to see how things would play out. It was silent for a moment as the two sides stood face to face. 

"Sure is a lot of them." Eli commented as he clicked the safety off on his Galil SAR. He also had come prepared with two Jericho 941 pistols and a Mossberg shotgun with a pistol grip and no stock on his back. 

"We'll have to make quick work of them." Yukio said as calm as could be. 

"Allow me to help with that." A gruff voice said from behind. He and the four relic bearers turned back to see a man in his thirties with tan skin and blonde hair push his way to the front. He was carrying a metal suitcase in his right hand.

"Iman-sensei?" Rin asked, surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?" 

"You know him?" Yukio asked. 

"Iman-sensei was my teacher after I started living on my own. He taught me how to fight and all about exorcism." Rin replied. 

"I used to be an exorcist down in Indonesia working for Mecca." Iman added. 

"Used to be?" Eli asked. 

"As i've said." Iman opened the suitcase and reached in it. He pulled out a long red cloth that looked like a wrap of some sorts out. It also had gold embroidered in a pattern around the edges. "My methods were considered extreme."

"Is that..." Arthur tried to ask but was too shocked. 

"The Headwraps of the Prophet Muhammad." Eli finished for him. "So that's where they've been. You wouldn't believe what a mess it was the day those went missing." 

"Great, so we have five relics now." Yukio sounded delighted. 

"That's right, and fortunately this one is an ultimate tool for Arias." Iman told him as he began to wrap them around his own head. He wrapped them so that they covered his hair and then tied them in a know behind his head. Two long strands of the relic hung down to his back. "It gives the wearer knowledge of any demon's fatal verse." 

"You know there's a lot of people who will want you killed for wearing that without permission right?" Rin asked.

"You think there isn't already for stealing them?" Iman replied. 

"Touche." 

Iman stepped forward and closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath. "Wherever you are death will find you, even if you are in towers built up strong and high!" He shouted as loud as he could. The ghoul soldiers down below all jerked and spasmed for a short moment. Then they all exploded into a cloud of grey dust simultaneously. Cain now stood in the back alone as all of his soldiers vanished before him. Only the necromancers behind him survived, either due to that they were out of his range or their own chanting protected them. 

"Well, that's annoying." Cain remarked to himself. He took a couple steps forward towards the enemy. In a flourish he discarded his robe and mask at the same time. Underneath was a gray flak jacket vest, as well as black pants and black combat boots. His horribly scarred left side of his his face was now open for them all to see. Rin drew his swords now. Amaterasu glowed orange and had its own aura of flames that surrounded the blade. Tsukiyomi had a quicksilver blade that glowed just a bit with moonlight. Iman drew out his two kerambit knives and spun them around his thumbs before catching them in his palms. 

The five relic bearers above looked down on the one below and vice verse. There was a breeze that blew by over the otherwise silent battlefield during the calm before the storm. Cain held his left hand out with that side now facing the enemy. His right hand was pulled back towards himself and he now stood in fighting position, ready to take on the enemy.


	17. Battle for Assiah

The five relic bearers on top of the hill all rushed in together. Rin was noticeably faster than the rest of them and closed in on Cain quicker. He attacked overhead with Amaterasu in his right hand. Cain turned to his other side to dodge so that his front was now facing the blade. As he did so he also swung his right elbow sideways at Rin's head. After his attack missed, Rin cartwheeled to his right to dodge the attack and move out of the way as Arthur closed in next. Arthur also attacked overhead, but with his larger sword got more momentum going. Cain spun around him to dodge and and when he turned around 180 degrees he struck Arthur in the back with an open palm strike. Olaf came at Cain while his back was turned, raising Mjolnir over his own head and bringing it straight down. Cain jumped into the air and rolled backwards. Olaf bent down as Mjolnir struck the ground and a bolt of lightning struck that spot from the sky. Cain ended up back to back with Olaf and rolling over him. 

Cain landed on one knee and Eli was already there, aiming his rifle at point blank. Before he could fire, Cain pushed the rifle out of the way with his left hand and with his right delivered an uppercut that sent Eli stumbling back and losing his rifle. Cain threw the Galil carbine to the side and Eli rolled over his back, then pulling out his Ka-bar knife. He rushed at Cain once more, jabbing right at him with the knife. Cain spun and got behind Eli, grabbing him by the wrist and kicking his feet out from under him. Eli was taken down the ground and Cain took his knife as the High Priest fell. Iman came in and swung with his right kerambit. Cain side stepped it and Iman  went back into fighting stance. Cain was already attacking and with an upward strike stabbed Iman in the right bicep, then kicked him backwards. Iman rolled back twice and ended up on one knee. He pulled the knife out of his arm and tossed it to Eli who was a few meters away. Eli caught the knife and the five of them now were in a circle around Cain who seemed unmoved. 

"Damn, he's tough." Iman commented as he held his bleeding arm. 

"Seems we'll have to be careful with this one." Arthur remarked as he held his left hand out towards Iman. A gentle flow of green energy flowed from Arthur's hand to Iman's wound. It quickly began to close and heal, giving him full use of that arm once more. 

_Now, which one I do I take out first?_ Cain thought to himself as he eyed his opponents. _I should get rid of their white mage._ Cain rushed in at Arthur. Rin saw what Cain was doing and rushed in to stop him. He got in front of Arthur and dropped both his swords. Cain hesitated as he was unsure just what Rin was doing. Rin then held both hands together at the wrist with both open palms facing towards Cain. 

"Dante's Inferno!" A beam of orange fire shot out from his hands and straight towards Cain. He tried to block it with his glove relic, but the force of the attack still ended up launching backwards and off his feet. Cain landed on his back and slid a short distance. as he sat up he wiped some blood from his mouth.

"When did you learn that one?" Arthur asked. 

"I'm a quick learner." Rin responded as he picked his swords back up.

"RAAAAGGGHHH!" Olaf let out a war cry as he charged in at Cain. With Mjolnir in his right hand he swung to the left in a powerful horizontal attack. Cain jumped over it and kicked up towards Olaf. Olaf grabbed his leg with this left and and threw Cain back towards the others. Cain spun and flew through the air from Olaf's throw. Iman moved in to attack while Cain was defenseless. However, he was not as defenseless as it seemed. While upside down he kicked downwards towards Iman, who held up his hands and blocked it with his wrists. Cain then spun upright and kicked down with the heel of his other leg. He landed on the leg he kicked with first and with the other he was attacking with brought down Iman's blocking guard. Iman then lifted up on his leg and tossed Cain straight up. Cain flipped backwards, landing on his right hand with the Fist of Osiris. He then dug into the ground with it and launched himself at Iman. He charged with his shoulder and slammed hard into the ex-exorcist. Iman stumbled back and Cain landed on his hands and knees. 

While Iman had his attention, Eli ran around them and grabbed his rifle. He aimed the Galil and opened fire. Lead shot out at eight hundred rounds per minute towards towards Cain. He rolled forwards away from the incoming fire then took off running in a circle around Eli to dodge his fire. Rin gave chase and went after him, as only he could match Cain's speed. Rin kicked himself off the grounds towards his opponent and spun around in a full circle. He swung both swords towards Cain at the same time. He blocked them with his relic and threw a punch with the other hand. Rin ducked sideways and spun again, lifting his left leg up and kicking Cain as he made another full spin. Cain ducked under the attack and from a distance Eli took aim. He decided to hold his fire however as his ally was too close. Rin skillfully swung in rapid succession with his swords. Cain blocked each strike quickly with his own relic. 

Rin then jumped into the air and delivered a roundhouse kick with the right leg, then spun with his momentum and delivered a side kick with his other leg. Cain blocked the first kick and then grabbed his leg on the second. He threw Rin the same way Olaf had thrown him. Rin flew back and rolled over his back. Cain made a mistake with that move. As soon as Rin was clear Eli opened fire. One round ended up hitting him the upper left arm. Cain grunted in pain and looked over towards the shooter. Eli had to reload and Cain moved in towards him. 

"Angel slash!" Cain stopped when a destructive wave of energy sticking up from the ground came at him. Arthur had slashed straight up and sent out a vertical attack that sailed along the ground. Cain spun and dodge it with his back towards the passing attack. He then jumped up and flipped backwards. He attempted to kick Eli as he came down and landed on his hands and knees. Eli rolled back and chambered the next round. Cain spun around and in a quick flash delivered a backhanded attack with the Fist of Osiris. Eli held up his rifle to block. The weapon cracked and bent and he was still sent flying sideways from the force of the attack. Iman rushed in from one side and Olaf from the other as the attempted to scissor Cain in. Iman used the hooked blade to try and stab upwards and Olaf swung upwards from the ground with Mjolnir. Cain jumped up and flipped sideways over Iman. He tried to strike with the back of his relic again but Iman blocked it with his right forearm bent downwards. He then sent out a back kick towards Cain who pushed it back down with his other hand and backed off. Olaf lifted Mjolnir high above his head and slammed the ground in front of him. A stream of electrical current traveled along the ground towards Cain. Iman leapt out of the way as the attack came close. Cain somersaulted away from the attack and gained some more distance. 

Or so he though. He heard a click as Eli pumped his shotgun behind Cain's head. Cain spun around real fast and with his right gloved hand held the gun out of the way and threw a cross with his left hand. He took hold of the shotgun as he spun and delivered an upwards heel kick, hitting Eli in the head once more. He held the shotgun in his right hand and aimed it at Iman. Iman had to roll out of the twice as Cain fired two rounds, pumping it with his left then going back to holding it in only his right hand like a pistol. 

* * *

"Sir, the attack is ready." An exorcist told Yukio as he watched over the fight. 

"Good, fire right away." Yukio ordered. The exorcist held a walkie talkie up to his mouth. 

"Open fire." There was a bang on one of the buildings behind them as a mortar fired. Cain heard the mortar go off and somersaulted backwards on his right hand. He picked up a rock and threw it into the air. It intercepted the mortar shell in mid air and caused it to explode before it could hit its target, the center of the park. 

"Damn, it's no good." Yukio remarked as Cain stared at the others from the battlefield. 

"That's give me an idea." Eli said to himself. "Hey, i'm going to back out for awhile. You guys can handle this right?" He called out to the other relic bearers who were standing in a line in front of Cain.

"Sure, but whatever you're doing do it fast." Rin replied. Eli turned around and took off, heading off as fast as he could to put his plan into action. Cain watched as one of the relic bearers ran off. He was unable to anything though as the others blocked his path. "Olaf, can you do that ground attack thing again?" Rin whispered.

"You got it!" Olaf shouted in response as he lifted his hammer above his head. "Hiyaa!" He hit the ground in front of him with it and sent another surge of electricity towards Cain. Cain jumped into the air above it and towards the other relic bearers. Rin held Amaterasu in the air with the blade to the side and two fingers pointed out. 

"Flamethrower." A large ball of flames shot into the air from Rin's fingers. Cain was unable to dodge as he passed through the ball of flames and over the other relic bearers. He slid along the ground a bit and looked a bit blackened from the intense flames. Rin and Iman rushed in together, moving around him then closing in on each side. Cain crossed his arms in an X over chest. When his opponents closed in he uncrossed his arms quick and struck outward in each direction. They were both struck with an open palm strike that sent them backwards. Cain then jumped and front flipped in an attempt to try and kick Arthur on the way down. Arthur side stepped the attack and got behind Cain. He held his large sword Caliburn up to Cain's throat as he stood behind him. 

"Ha! I have you in submission! Give up now or-" Before he could finish is speech, Cain headbutt him in the face with the back of his head. Arthur stumbled back a bit hut then and Cain grabbed hold of his head from behind. Cain threw Arthur overhead and sent him flying forward. He then was about to move in to continue his assault but was stopped by something. There was a loud bang and what seemed like a small explosion of dirt to his right. Cain looked up and to his left to see Eli in the window of the third floor of one of the buildings. He was lying down with a Barrett M82 .50 caliber sniper rifle. 

"Well that's distracting." Cain remarked as he jumped backwards to dodge the second shot. He slid on his feet after making contact with the ground and picked up a rock in his right hand. He tossed it as hard as he could, using his glove's strength to send it straight for Eli. Eli had to roll sideways to dodge as it zipped past him. He the quickly got back to his rifle and acquired his target once more. The third shot hit the ground as Cain jumped high in to the air. 

"Zodiac slash!" Arthur shouted as a beam of yellow energy shot out from his sword and curved up towards Cain. Cain spun his body mid air and dodged it before he started to fall back down. Arthur spun his sword so that the blade was now facing downwards. His Zodiac slash pulled a U-turn and came back down. This time it struck Cain in the side as he plummeted towards the ground below. He let out a grunt of pain and was unable to do anything as Olaf moved in to intercept. He lifted Mjolnir up like a baseball bat and used Cain as the ball. Olaf swung hard and Cain was sent flying upside down through the air towards the center hedges. Rin moved in behind him quickly, dropping Tsukuyomi so that the blade stuck into the ground. He gripped both hands tight around Amaterasu and swung at a helpless Cain. Cain could only look back in fear as Rin swung the powerful sword. With one swing he slashed through Cain at the waist, cutting him in two. 

"Gyaaah!" Cain cried out in pain as he was bisected. The two halves fell to the ground a short distance behind Rin and tumbled for a bit. Cain's upper half ended up on its back and he stared up at the night sky in his dying moments. His breathing was heavy and he was starting to feel cold. His vision began to fade and he heard footsteps as the other relic bearers gathered around his mortally wounded body. 

"It's over Cain, you lost." Rin told him. Cain was too weak to respond. He could only stare back at Rin as he breathed heavily. He let out one last sigh and closed his eyes for good.

* * *

The next thing he knew Cain was standing somewhere unfamiliar. Wherever he was it was all white. There were no shapes, just white everywhere. Even when he looked down he didn't seem to be standing on anything, just floating in a white nothingness. "What is this?" He asked himself aloud as he looked around. "Where am I?" 

"Don't you know? You're on the other side." He heard another male voice call out. It was a familiar one, one he had not heard in a long time. Cain looked towards the direction the voice called and saw someone standing there with him. The other man was dressed in a white robe and had on wooden sandals. He had tan skin and brown curly hair. Cain stared at him for a moment, recognizing him but unsure if all of it was real. "Hello again brother." The man greeted his sibling. 

"Tch." Cain turned away from his brother. "What are you doing here Abel? Come to gloat and mock me?" Cain asked. 

"No." Abel answered calmly with a shake of his head. 

"Then what?" Cain asked, sounding a bit irritated. 

"I've come to tell you that I forgive you." Cain now looked at his brother in surprise. 

"You.. forgive me? But brother, I killed you." Cain reminded him, shocked that his brother had said such a thing.

"I know, and i'll be honest. For the longest time I felt nothing but hate towards you for what you did." Abel replied.

"Then what changed that?" Cain asked confused. 

"Because then I remembered, you are still my brother. Even though I was killed by you, I can not hate you." Cain looked saddened now. Tears began to form in his eyes, something he had not felt in a long time. 

"After all this time I thought you must have hated me, spited everything I do. I never would have thought that you could ever truly forgive me." Cain replied with tears in his eyes. He wiped them. "I have not had anything that I was glad for in over a thousand years. Thank you brother." 

I'm afraid you can not go where my souls rest." Abel solemnly told his brother. "That is is why before you go, I wanted to mend things between us." He offered out his hand towards his brother. For the first time in awhile Cain smiled as he shook his brother's hand.

"Thank you." Cain replied with a smile. Abel smiled back as he and his brother finally reconciled. Then everything seemed to fade as they both were sent to opposite other afterlives. 

* * *

Back in Assiah, the five relic bearers stood around Cain's body, now cut in half. The exorcists above all stared in awe. "They... they did it." Ryuji said, shocked that they had taken down such a skilled opponent. 

"That sure was intense." Izumo commented. "Those guys are on a totally different level." 

"It's over." Iman broke the silence of those down below. 

"Well of course we're victorious when i'm here." Arthur gloated. 

"I swear your ego's so big we could have crushed Cain to death with it." Eli spat back. 

"Why thank you." Eli stared back in disbelief of how dense the Paladin was. 

"Enough." Rin cut in with his monotone voice. "We need to-"

There was a loud spike of pink and purple energy that shot up from the center of the park. Everyone just stared and watched. The energy could be felt coming from the center area. Crackling of the energy and the sound of wind could be heard from the energy spike. It then suddenly exploded in a flash of bright light that everyone had to shield themselves from. What they saw next made all of their hearts skip a beat. Standing there above the hedges was Satan. He stood three meters tall and didn't look at all human. His torso was red and very muscular. Though he had a human looking chest and arms, his head was not in the shape of a human. His chin was pointy and his toothy grin was full of razor sharp teeth. His eyes lacked pupils and instead were coal black. He also had two curly horns sticking out of his head. He lower body looked like goat legs with hooves instead of feet. 

"I'm FREEEEEE!" He cheered with outstretched arms. 


	18. You're not a god...

"Ah, poor Cain." Satan's voice boomed out as he knocked down some of the shrubs and stepped out from the center of the park. The five relic bearers all looked ready to fight. "I really would have liked to thank him for freeing me. But it seems you got to him before I did. Still, he did buy me enough time to materialize, and for that I will make sure his dream comes true and destroy this entire realm!" He threw his head back and laughed manically. 

"Great, now what?" Eli asked. 

"We fight!" Olaf delcared as he raised his hammer into the air. 

"Can we really take on Satan?"

"Do we have a choice?" Rin rebutted. 

"Good point." Eli aimed his shotgun at the tall Demon Lord. 

"Oh, are you insects going to try and fight me?" Satan mocked them. 

"That's right!" Arthur shouted back at him. "So, does he have a fatal verse?" He asked Iman more quietly. 

"I wouldn't really say a 'verse' as i'd have to recite the entire Quran." Iman answered. "Even though that's something I could do, I doubt he'll give me the chance in combat." 

"Great. Any other new moves you can whip out demon?" Arthur asked Rin. 

"No, and call me demon again and the next one I come up with i'll test on you." Rin replied right before he let Tsukuyomi fall from his hand and stab into the ground. He held his palm out towards Satan and fire began to ball. "Hellfire missile." The ball launched forward right for Satan.

"Oh, this should be fun." Satan took a step forward with one leg and with the other kicked the attack back towards his enemies. The five of them scattered as the attack came back at them. Despite this, the missile still ended up hitting Eli as it curved. It took him with it and crashed into the second floor of a building and exploded. 

"Damn it." Iman cursed. 

"Don't worry about him, his relic probably protected him from most of the attack." Rin replied. 

"Oh ho, I should try out for soccer." Satan mocked. Olaf spun Mjolnir in a circle above his head. Lightning began to form in the shape of a ring as he spun his weapon. He then flicked it forward and the ring flew towards Satan like a frisbee. Since this attack was electrical he could not deflect it like the last one. Instead he jumped above it and through the air so that he landed right in front of Olaf. He was caught by surprise when Olaf grabbed his leg and actually started lifting him. With great strength Olaf spun and ended up throwing Satan, who skidded across the ground of the park and ended up crashing through the hedges once more. 

"Ha, never underestimate a Norseman!" Olaf shouted. Satan got back to his feet and seemed totally unphased by the attack. 

"Sorry to disappoint you Norseman, but this is Ragnarok." He mocked as he approached them. 

"Zodiac slash!" Arthur shouted as a beam of yellow energy shot from his blade. Satan grinned and slapped it towards the ground as if it were a fly. 

"I deflected the brat's attack and you thought _that_ could hurt me?" Satan asked, taunting the Paladin. "Ah, I miss Fujimoto. He would have given me a real fight." Arthur gritted his teeth at being mocked. Satan saw he was getting to the arrogant Paladin and opened his mouth. Instead of another insult, a large beam of blue flames shot out. Arthur held his arms up to try and block as the attack closed in. He was surprised when they suddenly stopped a few feet in front of him as if hitting an invisible barrier. Athur then noticed someone was now kneeling in front of him. A battered and bruised Eli was using his relic to protect him. Satan's attack ended up having no effect as the High Priest's Breastplate protected the both of them. 

"Oh, so you're still alive?" Satan asked aloud as Arthur silently thought the exact same thing. 

"Yeah, lets NOT do that again ok?" Eli shouted at Rin. 

"Lesson learned." Rin replied solemnly. 

"At least I was able to go grab this." Eli held up an M249 SAW machine gun. He opened fire with the light machine gun as rounds began to spew out very quickly. They all seemed to have no effect as Satan just stood there and grinned. After a few short moments Eli stopped firing. "Damn it!" He threw the gun to the ground and pulled the shotgun off his back once more. 

"Rin, why don't you join me?" Satan turned his attention towards his son. "I could give you everything you ever wanted. Power, money, women."

"As if i'd ever join you." Rin snapped back, starting to sound a bit angry for once. 

"Oh, is this still over the old man who raised you? Grow up. Are you really going to play the paragon, trying to going against me as a hero?" 

"No, i've never thought of myself as a hero." Rin explained. "Even back when I thought what I was doing was justified because of what happened to me, I knew I wasn't a hero. I'm not doing it for other people, i'm not against killing, and I certainly don't feel any sense of duty to do this. If our morality is represented with colors then I am nothing but gray. No matter how much white or black you try to add i'm still nothing but gray. I'm not doing this because it's right, i'm doing this because you pissed me off."

Satan laughed manically once more. "Oh what a heartfelt speech. I bet Winston Churchill is proud. Your one armed brother probably is too wherever that disappointment is."

"Over here." All heard turned behind Satan as Yukio casually strolled behind him on the battlefield. He went over to Cain's corpse and picked the glove off his upper half. Yukio then put his right hand in it. "Hope there's room for one more."

"Heh, you're not a knight. You think you can take me on with that?" Satan asked.

"No. I won't be the one joining in."  Yukio replied. Satan gave him a confused look as Yukio held his hand out with the palm of the glove facing down. There was a flash of light green energy and a new figured in a black robe appeared on the battlefield. He hair short gray hair and glasses. He wore a holster that held a Remington 870 shotgun and a bastard sword on his back. His eyes were now grey as he looked around and survey the area. Rin, Arthur, and Eli all recognized this man. Shiro Fujimoto. 

"Back in the land of the living I see." Shiro commented as he examined his new surroundings. He looked at Yukio next to him. "Yukio, did you bring me back? And is that... is that the Fist of Osiris?" He asked in shock. "Where on earth did you find that?" 

"I wasn't the one who found it dad." Yukio answered. "I'll fill you in on everything later but please, right now we need your help." He pointed towards Satan. Shiro looked over to see the Demon Lord now standing there, along with several others using relics as well. 

"I see, so that's why you brought me here." 

"Ah, Shiro Fujimoto. I was just talking about how much of a disappointment your replacement is." Satan greeted him. 

"Well you should know i'll be more of a challenge." Shiro responded as he stepped forward. Satan grinned and tossed a ball of fire at him. Shiro ran away from it in a circle around Satan. With speed that could match Rin or Cain he slid and stopped near Eli. "It's good to see you again High Priest. What's the situation?"

"Satan has been brought into Assiah by Cain, who used the Fist of Osiris to kill the eight Demon Kings and take their souls. We took out Cain but not quick enough to stop Satan from materializing in Assiah." Eli reported. 

"I see." Shiro picked up the machine gun off the ground. "And who left this just lying here?" He asked irritated. 

"I did. Don't bother with it, it won't affect him." Eli told him. Satan grinned and began walking towards them. 

"Well then, clearly you just don't know how to use it." Shiro said with a grin. He took aim and opened fire, aiming for the Demon Lord's eyes. Satan held his hands up to his face and screamed in agony. 

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He cursed the former Paladin. Shiro tossed the gun to Eli and rushed in, pulling to longsword off his back. He leaped into the air in front of Satan and slashed an X into his chest. Satan yelled again and blindly brought his fist down towards Shiro who ran backwards to dodge it. He this time was closest to Rin.

"You there, what's your name?" Shiro asked. 

"What, don't recognize me?" Rin asked in his usual tone of voice. Shiro started at him for a moment before it came to him. 

"Rin?" Shiro asked, shocked to see Rin look so different. 

"That's right." Rin replied in stoically. "Got any ideas on what to do next?" Satan glared at Shiro with a look of pure hate. 

"Not sure, he's more powerful that anything i've ever gone up against." Shiro responded. "Any chance he has a fatal verse?"

"I'd have to recite the entire Quran in order to be rid of him, so i'm assuming you'd have to do the same with the Bible." Iman responded from the other side of Rin. 

"He's also able to deflect my flame attacks, even with the power of Amaterasu. So we can't use that either." Rin reported. Shiro stared at him for a moment, surprised to see such a change in Rin. Though he could see the same elvel of determination, Rin's hotheadedness and brash personality seemed to be replaced with a much more calm one, even jaded perhaps. He then focused back on his target. 

"Then we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. Though strength an willpower." Shiro declared. Satan stomped and suddenly a wall of red brimstone shot out of the ground in front of him. He punched it and sent large chunks of debris headed from Shiro, Rin, and Iman. The three of them all moved quickly to get out of the way. 

"Angel sla-" Before Arthur could finish Satan flicked his wrist up in Arthur's direction and a pillar of brimstone hit him, sending him flying into the air and off the battlefield. 

"Now you've ruined my good mood." Satan told them furiously. Eli ran over to Shiro and held his hand out to offer him something. 

"Here." Eli said as Shiro took a small brown pouch. He looked inside to see what it was. 

"Explosive rounds huh?" Shiro smiled as he saw what they were. He pulled the shotgun off his back and loaded them into his gun. Shiro and Eli both fired off the first round together, causing two explosions on Satan's torso. He held his arms up to block a barrage of explosive rounds. The two Dragoons pumped and fired as quickly as they could, losing the sync the had on the first round. Olad rushed in from Satan's left while he was distracted. As he moved in to attack Satan quickly reached out and took hold of him by the head. He pitched him towards Iman and Olaf crashed into him hard. The two men rolled and bounced off the ground a short distance before laying down in the dirt. 

"Even with our numbers he's still swatting us down like flies." Eli remarked as two more men were taken out. Satan began making his way towards the two of them. Shiro and Eli both took aim again and Rin waited back and tried to think of a plan. Someone else stepped onto the battlefield, causing all heads to turn. Shiemi was now standing to Satan's right with Kurikara in hand. 

"What is that girl doing?" Shiro asked. 

"Shiemi, get out of here." Rin ordered. "You can't take him on." Shiemi didn't listen. She stood there unwavering even as the massive Satan turned towards her. 

"Oh, now this is cute. She thinks she's going to help." Satan laughed. "Come on, give it your best shot." Shiemi held out Kurikara in front of her and put on hand on the handle. 

"Shiemi no! If you draw that sword you'll die." Rin reminded her. 

"I know it's dangerous but... I know I won't die." Her grip tightened on the sword. "Because I know Rin won't ever hurt me!" In one swift motion she drew Kurikara and flames suddenly erupted around her. There was a bright blue flash followed by Shiemi surrounded unharmed in an aura of blue flames. An aura of blue flames then surrounded Rin. His burst out more intense that usual, amplified with the power of Amaterasu. 

"What? How is she still alive?" Satan asked shocked. 

"Nee, swamp gas!" Shiemi commanded. Nee let out a happy cry before he shot a cloud of green gas out of his mouth. It formed in a cloud around Satan . He held his arm up to his face to block the stench. Shiemi created a small flame that shot out of her free hand. The flames ignited the cloud of noxious gas, causing a explosion that engulfed Satan. After the smoke from the explosion began to dissipated he appeared a bit scuffed up but otherwise unharmed. He glared at her, angry that he was injured by a mere Page. He was about to rush her but was struck in the back of the head by another explosion. While he had his back turned Rin too the opportunity to get a surprise attack in. Satan turned around furiously to him as Rin rushed in, powered up from drawing his demonic energy now as well. Satan brought a fist above his head then slammed it straight down towards Rin. Rin stepped backwards away from in, the jumped on top of Satan's fist and launched himself into the air off that. He grabbed Satan by his horn and kneed him in the face. Rin then flipped himself behind Satan. After he landed on the ground Rin spun and slashed him across the back. Satan let out a  howl of pain as Shiemi ran up to Rin's side. They both held out one hand towards Satan.

"Hellfire missile!" They said together. An even more powerful than normal ball of blue flames shot out from between their hands. It exploded when it made impact with Satan, creating a large ball of blue flames that engulfed him and that Shiro and Eli had to take a few steps back from. Others held their arms up to their face to block the light. After it subsided there was a large cloud of smoke rising into the air from where the attack struck. 

"Woah. Did they do it?" Ryuji asked as he saw no movement. 

"Shiemi." Rin turned to her. "That was very dangerous." 

"I know Rin, but I had faith that you wouldn't hurt me." She told him with a smile. 

"GRAAHH!" Satan shouted in anger as an aura of blue flames surrounded him and blew the smoke away. "I am done with you, you insolent little brat!" He then charged Rin and with a powerful kick sent him straight up into the air. He then swat Rin away like a fly, sending the boy flying off into a building. He then snatched Shiemi in his powerful grip. Only her hands were free above his fist. 

"No!" Shiro shouted and took aim. He pulled the trigger but there was only a click as he was out of ammo. 

"Nee, ghost peppers!" Shiemi frantically ordered her familiar. 

"Nee!" A small plant produced two small orange ghost peppers. Shiemi took them in her hands as Satan pulled her closer to him. She crushed the peppers in her hands, causing the outside to winkle up and the seeds holding the capsaiscin to fall out. She threw it in his eyes and he let out a yell!

"Gyaaa! Who eats these?!" He shouted as he held his hands up to his eyes. Sheimi landed on her rear on the ground below with an 'oof'. She sheathed Kurikara and ran away as fast as possible. 

"Everyone, retreat!" Shiro ordered. "Let's fall back, he's too strong for us!" Him and Eli then took off running as the exorcists above began retreating. Satan let out an angry roar and the flames around him intensified. The exorcists all rann away from the scene. Eli went over to the unconscious Iman and picked him up. Shiro did the same for Olaf. Ryuji and Konekomaru both carried Rin together as everyone retreated. With one last shout a large pillar of flames as wide as the park itself shot up into the sky and beyond the atmosphere. 

* * *

**Two days later...**

Five of the six relic bearers were gathered around a table in one of the rooms of the cram school, planning the next move. Rin was the only one absent. The resurrected Shiro was at the table with them as they discussed a new battle plan. After they had retreated the city had been evacuated to prevent collateral damage and loss of civilian life. True Cross Academy and the cram school were being used as a base of operations. Satan was slowly making his way there after destroying much of the other half of the city. Their forces were trying to hold him back but could only do so much. "The situation is getting dire." Yukio said aloud. "Thankfully we were able to evacuate the city quickly but Satan is still going on a rampage. We have to act fast or else this place won't stand much longer." 

"Where on earth is your brother at a time like this?" Arthur demanded. 

"I don't know, no one's been able to find him." Yukio replied. "Hopefully he's looking through his ancient scrolls for an answer. In any case, we need a plan and fast."

"Yes, if this school falls another one can't be built." Iman added. 

"That's the least of our concerns." Yukio told him, his tone suddenly sounding more serious. "The UN has come to a decision. If we can't stop Satan and True Cross falls, they'll issue a nuclear strike." The rest of the room all stared at him with horrified expressions. 

"They're going to nuke us?" Shiro repeated both shocked and appalled. 

"They feel as if there's no other choice. They don't want Satan to destroy the rest of the world. Even the Prime Minister has agreed to this plan." Yukio informed them. 

"So this is all or nothing then?" Eli asked. "We either stop him now or another army will. Assuming a nuke would even be capable of stopping the Demon Lord." 

"Iman, you said it's possible for you to send him back if you can recite the entire Quran right?" Shiro asked. 

"That's right." Iman nodded. "If you can keep him off me long enough I am capable of reciting the entire holy book and banishing him once more." 

"That sounds like the best plan we've got." Yukio admitted. "Eli, dad, and I are all trained Dragoons so we can provide long range support. Olaf and Arthur, you two get close and just try to keep him in place while Iman recites verses." 

"This sounds like it's going to be fun." Olaf commented. 

"Fun isn't exactly my first choice of word." Eli responded. 

"Come on, let's get going while we still can." Shiro cut in. "Yukio, go look for your brother. We're going to need his help as well." Yukio nodded and left the room. Shiemi was outside in the hall waiting. 

"Yuki, is everything ok?" Shiemi asked, seeing he seemed much more stern than usual. 

"No, i'll explain later but for now we need to get moving. Have you seen Rin anywhere?" 

"Yeah, he's in the Atrium with a few Arias." Shiemi answered. Yukio looked over to her with a confused glance as the two of them made their way to the atrium. 

"What is he doing in there?" 

"I don't know. When I asked all he said was 'getting help'." Shiemi told him. The atrium was now far from where they were. The door leading to it was the same as the rest within the cram school, nothing special about it. However, once inside it was the second largest room within the cram school. Only the arena was larger. When they got there Yukio opened the door and led Shiemi inside. Rin was standing a short distance away with his back turned. He was dressed in his regular apparel with his black leather coat over top. He had a new piece added to it. A special holster on his back that held Kurikara and Ginkaze. He could now carry all four of his swords at once. There was a group of Arias gathered in a circle, chanting something in Latin. Rin looked back as Yukio and Shiemi entered. 

"Rin, the others are ready to move out. We need your help." Yukio told him. 

"Not yet. It's almost ready." Rin replied neutrally. 

"What? What's almost ready?" Yukio asked. "Rin, what's going on here." 

"It's something I decided to try. When I was going through the scrolls I found something about opening a Gehenna gate using Arias. I decided to try throwing it into reverse?" Rin informed them. 

"Throw it in reverse?" Yukio repeated in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. What's the opposite of Gehenna?" Yukio thought to himself for a short moment before it came to him. 

"Wait, Rin, do you mean-" To answer his question the circle on the ground began to glow a golden color. In the center of it a doorway made of pure white light slowly began to rise. 

"That's right. This is a pearly gate. A portal to heaven." Rin was as calm as ever while Yukio and Shiemi both stared in awe.

* * *

Heaven was a realm entirely different than Assiah. Instead of land there was golden fluffy clouds with buildings scattered about. The structures all looked as if they were taken straight from ancient Rome. There was a yellow brick path that led everywhere and anywhere one could want to go. The atmosphere of the whole area felt peaceful and tranquil. It truly was a paradise. 

On one of the many walkways a doorway made of white light suddenly appeared. A boy walked out from it. Rin Okumara had just become the first living person to see heaven. Yukio followed behind his brother, and Shiemi after him. The two of them looked around, amazed to see such a beautiful place while Rin was unmoved. "So, this is the other side then?" Yukio asked in amazement. "What are we even doing here anyway?" 

"We're here to ask for help. The holy army is the only thing powerful enough to stop Satan." Rin informed his brother. 

"Look!" Shiemi shouted as she ran over to a tall fence. Rin and Yukio both turned to see her running over to what looked like a massive garden. The fence around it was around ten meters high with a series of parallel slits that ran vertically. The garden beyond was beautiful. It stretched on farther than they eye could see in every direction beyond the fence. There were flowers from all over the world spread across the tranquil scene. There were also a few trees scattered about, all different kinds too. "This must be the Garden of Amahara!" 

"Shiemi?" And elderly voice called from within the garden. A short elderly lady with grey hair tied in a large bun atop her head approached her from within the garden. They also noticed she had a halo floating above her head. 

"Grandma?!" Shiemi was shocked to see her once more. 

"Shiemi, what are you doing here? If you're here does this mean you've met your end so early?' Her grandmother asked concerned. 

"No, that's not it at all!" Shiemi shook her head. "I went to school to become an exorcist and made a bunch of friends. Then this guy went around collecting souls of the Demon Kings in order to release Satan. Notw Satan is down on earth wreaking havoc and we came up here to try and stop him." Shiemi very quickly explained to her grandmother who stared back silently for a brief moment. 

"Oh my, how awful." She sounded distressed after hearing all this. "But... how were you able to get here in the first place?" 

"My friend Rin did it." Shiemi rolled her eyes towards Rin. Her grandmother eyed up the boy with four swords and a jaded look. 

"It was simple actually. I just reversed the ritual used to open a Gehenna gate and it had the opposite effect." Rin explained dully. 

"Hmm..." Shiemi's grandmother continued to stare at him, trying to make heads or tails of this strange boy. "Alright, I can take you where you need to go. Please, meet me at the exit and follow me."

* * *

A short while later Shiemi's grandmother was leading the three visitors down one of the paths of Heaven. She had said nothing of where they were going, only that she could help and was willing to. "So, where exactly are we going?" Yukio asked. 

"We're going to see the council. They're the ones in charge and will decide whether or not to help you." Shiemi's grandmother told him. 

"Council?" Yukio repeated.

"That's right." Shiemi's grandmother nodded. "The council consists of the religious figures from some of the world's religions. They all act as an adviser for God who is the one with the real power."

"So God will only help us if the council agrees? And who's God is this God?" Yukio asked. 

"No one religion's really. This God is the one that created the Earth, Assiah, Gehenna, and everything. I'm sure she'll also be expecting us." 

"She?" Yukio again repeated her words in confusion. 

"That's right, she." Shiemi's grandmother replied playfully, smiling to herself all the while. "Here it is." They all looked forward to see a very large Roman looking building in front of them. There was a wide series of steps that lead into the building. It seemed to be an entrance connected to a large circular interior. Shiemi's grandmother led them up the steps and into the building where the council waits. 

The inside was massive. A single circular room with an open center area and two tables that sat up very high on either side. These tables were slightly curved, making the open part circular and with a path in and out in the front and back. On the other side of the entrance a bit behind the ends of the table sat a throne. It wasn't a very elegant throne, the seat was a red velvet while the rest of it was made from gold. It did have a very high back that rose high into the air. On that chair sat a blonde woman with blue eyes, dressed in a formal navy blue business suit. He hair was medium length, reaching just an inch above her shoulders. It was also parted on her left, so that most of it was combed over to the right. She also wore rectangular glasses. Each table to her side held six giant figures. Some or them appeared human but their size made them seem more like giants. This was the council, and the woman that sat across from them waiting was God. 

"Approach." She commanded in an authoritative voice. The four visitors made their way towards the open area between the tables. They stopped in the center and Shiemi's grandmother bowed. 

"Thank you for seeing us your holiness." She greeted the creator of the universe. 

"Please, there is no need to be so formal." God smiled as waved to dismiss the officialism. "I knew you were coming already. The council is now in session. Our order of business is whether or not to send reinforcements to save Assiah." She announced. "Councilors, what are your thoughts?" 

"We mustn't allow the Lord of Gehenna to assimilate Assiah!" A man with a long grey beard dressed in a brown robe cried out as he slammed his fist on the table. He was Jehovah, the figure for Judaism. To his right sat Jesus and to his left the prophet Muhammad. 

"I stand with my father." Jesus agreed. "Letting Satan continue his rampage would be an unnecessary loss of life." 

"That is something we can now stand for." Buddha agreed from the other table. 

"Let's put it to a vote." God decreed. "All in favor." All twelve hands rose. "So it's unanimous then. Very well. The humans shall receive no help."

"What?!" Yukio sounded horrified. 

"I thought you just said it was unanimous." Rin questioned her. 

"I did. The _council's_ vote was unanimous. However, if it hasn't been explained they merely act as an advisory. I have the final say in all decisions, and i've decided not to help you."

"But why?" Shiemi asked, sounding almost betrayed. 

"Because look where you were before Satan invaded. Thousands of years of war, you divide yourselves over the smallest little things, and it's near impossible for you to get anything done. So my answer is though I won't let Satan just destroy Assiah so easily, I will not help you either. Once your kind has been wiped out I will intervene and start anew. If you manage to be rid of him on your own somehow then I will let you be. However I intend to use this opportunity to start anew. So you are on your own dealing with the Demon Lord." 

"But if you know so much, you must now that if we don't stop him soon the UN plans to go nuclear." Yukio theorized. Shiemi and Rin both glanced at him. Shiemi looked horrified. 

"I do, and it will not help. A nuclear device is not capable of exorcising Satan, no matter how powerful. If the UN does decide that then your end will be at your own hands." God replied unmoved. 

"Then... that's it then." Yukio's shoulders slumped and he looked defeated. "We're doomed."

"If it helps you have our condolences." Jehovah announced. "We are sorry that we could not help." 

"Thank you." Though Yukio sounded defeated he was sincere. "Come on, lets go home." He turned around. 

"If there is nothing more then I-" 

"No." Rin cut in emotionlessly. He began walking forward. "You're going to let seven and a half billion people die because you don't like the state the world is in? I've seen the dark side of it, i've been abandoned and left on my own out of hate and discrimination. I've killed people, so i'm not going to act like a paragon here, but what you're doing is evil. So now I know."

"Rin, what are you-" Yukio tried to stop him to no avail. 

"You're not a god... you're a psychopath." The room went silent after that, most everyone giving Rin a horrified look as he outright challenged God. She however looked mildly entertained. 

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" She asked. His response was to draw out his two relic swords. A small aura of orange flames surrounded him as he stood to confront God. She smirked and rose from her throne. A gold light began to shine off her as if she was glowing. The threw her glasses to the ground and held out her left hand to her side. Her appear changed to battle attire. She had a gold vest that covered her torso from the front and back. Two white sleeves covered each arm with golden forearm protectors on each arm. She had a white skirt and armored leggings that could bend at the joints yet were armored everywhere else. In her left hand she now held a spear and stood ready for battle. Rin lifted up his swords and go into fighting position. 


	19. Deicide

"Rin, what are you doing?" Yukio questioned his absurd actions. "Stop this now before-" God raised her hand to the two exorcists and they both disappeared in a gold flash of light. 

"There, now they're back on Assiah and we won't have any interruptions." She commented. Shiemi's grandmother had decided to take her leave as well, running away from the scene as fast as she could. "You know it's been awhile since anyone has challenged me outright. You are just like your father aren't you?" Rin gritted his teeth and her remark and lunged at her. She jabbed her spear at his side and he was just barely able to move out of the way. He came to a halt a few feet in front of her. "Don't tell me you thought it'd be that easy." With one hand on her weapon she sent out a series of lightning fast jabs that were too quick for Rin to block. He ended up having to jump back to gain some distance. She then jumped towards him and spun. On the last part of her spin she struck him in the side of the head with the back end of her spear's shaft. Rin rolled sideways with the attack and quickly got back into a fighting stance with both swords raised. 

"That all you got?" She taunted before she jabbed at his side once more. Rin slashed at the shaft of the weapon right below the spear head. His strike ended up breaking the head off and shattering the shaft at that end. He then held his hands outwards towards her.

"Dante's inferno." A beam of orange fire shot from his hands and took God with it. She was sent crashing through a wall and out the building. Rin went after her, jumping out the hole he had just created. God ended up landing on the roof of a building nearby, rolling over her back twice before coming to a stop on her knees. Rin chased after from the streets below and jumped up on the roof to join her. He sheathed Tsukuyomi on his hip and drew Kurikara from his back. The aura of flames around him intensified and turned blue. God gave him an irritated look and materialized a golden shield in her right hand. It was a round shield with a V shape that met in the center. She held up her shield in a defensive stance with her spear ready to strike. 

Rin charged at her with his swords held out to either side. God kept her shield up and aimed low with her weapon. Rin jumped above it and her as well, landing behind her. He then almost instantly spun around and tried to hit her blind spot. She fell to one knee and held her shield to guard her back, blocking his attack. She then pushed his swords back and spun sideways. She then thrust her spear at him as soon as she turned around. Rin conjoined his two swords together to block her attack. With one sword he redirected her aim and with the other he slashed at her. She raised her shield up and blocked his attack. She then preformed a backflip, kicking him in the jaw as she skillfully jumped into the air. Rin was stunned from her attack and stumbled back a bit. She landed on her feet and went back to her defensive stance. 

Rin moved in once more. He slashed at her and it was blocked by her shield. She attacked him with her spear and he blocked her attack as well. He then charged her with his shoulder, causing her to stumble backwards. He then swept at her ankles with Kurikara in his left hand. She flipped backwards again, landing on her hands before flipping herself upright. Rin spun and kicked at her with his heel, which she blocked with her shield. They began to circle one another with their weapons up. They then both looked up into the sky as they heard the flapping of wing. a squad of angels were on their way towards the scene. 

"Your holiness!" The leader called out, sword drawn and ready for battle. 

"Stay back, all of your!" She commanded. Her holy forces stopped mid air and hovered there. "Leave him to me. Besides, it's been awhile since i've seen battle, i'm itching for this." She tossed her spear into the air and caught it so that she was now in position to throw it. She tossed it towards he opponent and it zipped through the air at him. Rin ducked under it and she moved in on him. As he stood back up she spun and struck him with her shield. She spun through the air from the strike and ended up on another roof, tumbling along until he stopped. He managed to get to his feet as she jumped down to the same roof. He she held out her left hand and her spear materialized in her hand once more.  She stabbed it into the ground and held her palm out towards him. "Purifier" A ring of gold light appeared in her hand followed by a beam of light that shot forth from it. Rin leaned to his side and ducked under it. The beam passed by him and hit the side of another building causing an explosion upon impact. Rubble and debris flew out from the wall and a few people were heard screaming. 

Some started exiting the surrounding buildings. They gathered in the street below and looked up to watch the spectacle. "Come on, you didn't expect this to be melee only did you?" She instigated. "Do it, show me your power." Rin crossed his arms over his chest. 

"All consuming flame." He uncrossed them to either side and a large ball of fire began to expand from him. God jumped backwards away from it as it consumed the upper half of the building they were on. People below began to panic and shout from the ensuing chaos. 

"That's more like it." She commented, ignoring the fear of those below. She was about to flip herself upright and land below when she felt something around her waist. Rin had suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her from behind. He pulled down and forced her to the nearest roof headfirst. She was unable to get out of his suplex before they crashed into the roof. There was a small explosion from the impact and her body hung out while her head was buried in concrete. Rin was unharmed, using her to absorb the impact. He then slid out from under and drew his swords. She pulled herself up after his attack and wiped blood from her mouth. 

"Is this what you want?" Rin asked in a bored tone. "Look around you." He prompted her towards to destruction they had caused and the crowd gathering below. "All this destruction, these innocent people scared out of their minds. This is supposed to be your realm, so why are you letting this happen?" 

She shrugged. "What can I say? It gets boring up here." 

"So you're willing to allow all this destruction and to put these souls already laid to rest in danger because you're bored? You just prove my point further, you're a god damn psychopath."

"Oh? What happened to 'I'm not a hero'? now you decide to care?" She asked in a taunting manner.

"That hasn't changed. I'm not doing this to protect people on Assiah." He raised in his swords to her once more. "I'm doing this to protect only one person."

"And by protecting that one person you're truly only protecting yourself, correct?" She asked. He didn't respond. "If that's the case, you're just as selfish as I am."

"You're right, I am doing this to protect one person so that I won't have to go back to being alone." He admitted. "The difference between you and me however, is that I at least acknowledge the fact I am no longer a decent person." She smirked at him.

"I think i've had enough of this discussion of morality." Her sword and shield disappeared into gold light. Then in her light hand a broadsword made of gold appeared. The blade was polish and shining, almost seeming to radiate light. The guard was angled up towards the blade and had wings etched into it on both sides. The handle was wrapped in a high quality black leather, and the pommel was gold with a ruby center stone. "This is the holy sword Excalibur, the most powerful weapon in existence." She drew it back, ready to swing. "Try blocking this!" 

Rin knew better that to take her up on that offer and her jumped into the air. Though the blade itself missed, the building behind him was cut in two. The roof slid off onto the street below, causing onlookers to scatter. Rin landed unharmed and tried to think of a strategy. "Pretty impressive, huh?" She gloated. Fire then engulfed the bald in an aura. The golden fire blade was now much longer, about three meters. She rushed in swinging, causing him to have to react fast. He rolled away from the first strike which came straight down. The second came in from the side with his back turned and he flipped over that. She swung back the opposite direction and he fell to the ground under that, swinging at her ankles once more. She stepped on the blade of Kurikara and raised her sword up. Rin shot a small fire bullet at her that connected. It struck her in the face and she recoiled from it. He kicked her legs out and caused her to fall to the ground as well. He then struck down at her with Amaterasu and she blocked it. She pushed up on his sword and they both rolled away from one another, getting to their feet once more. She let her sword lean towards the ground, giving the appearance of someone who was either untrained or arrogant. In this case, it was the latter. 

"You're good, I haven't met a warrior like you in a long time." She praised him. "I could do this for a long time."

"Sorry, but i'm ending this now." He replied. He rushed in and she held her sword up, waiting to see what he'd do. He stopped just a few feet away from her and threw Amaterasu up into the air. She watched the sword spiral vertically, waiting to see what he had planned. She had taken the bait. Rin reached towards his back and drew Ginkaze. By the time God had realized what was going on it was too late however. Rin struck her much faster that before, using Ginkaze to do so as he knew it would be fastest. He cut through her armor and into her left collarbone. He then slashed her right knee at the side, cutting a major tendon, followed by a strike across the chest. He then drew Ginkaze out from her and slashed her across the cheek, spinning her so that her back was now turned. She was dazed from his series of attacks and couldn't think as to what the heat she was feeling on her back was. "Hellfire missile." She didn't have time to react as his attack launched from his hand and took her with it. It flew across the buildings until it hit a tower. The explosion sent her through both walls of the tower then tumbling onto a roof. She tumbled all the way across it until the landed in a courtyard below. She was struggling to get back to her feet. She only managed to get on her hands and knees when she heard the swish of a sword. 

She looked to her left to see Rin holding Amaterasu at her. Ginkaze was on his back once more and he was now back to dual wielding his fire swords. "Surrender." He ordered her dully. She gave him a distasteful look. 

"And do what? My armies listen to me, you think they'll help you because you defeated me?" 

"No." He replied coolly and without emotion. 

"Then what are you-"

"Relinquish your power to me." She gawked at him for a moment after he ordered her to do that. 

"You can't be serious." She responded. 

"Do you think i'm the type of person who ever jokes?" He asked. 

"I know you're not stupid. You know what will happen if I do that." 

"I do, and i'm willing to accept that. Now give me your power." He ordered her once more. She stared at him for a moment, thinking of an exit strategy. None came to mind, she knew he had her beat. She held up her hand to him and a gold energy began to flow forth, surrounding him in an aura. 

"Very well. I hereby pass my powers and title onto you Rin Okumura." She decreed. Once it was done she began to fade away, leaving Rin standing there alone.

* * *

Back on Assiah, the four relic bearers along with the revived Shiro were trying to hold back Satan on an overpass. They had moved parts of the concrete section that divided the road. They turned it to use for cover as Satan approached. Eli was in a Humvee, firing off a gatling gun mounted to the top of it. Shiro and Iman were both armed with M4 rifles and were firing at him as he began to make his way towards them. Iman was about a quarter of the way through the Quran by now. Arthur was spamming out his long range attacks as fast as he could. Olaf was the only one on the other side of the barricade near Satan. He tried to stay back to give his comrades room to fire but he wasn't as good at long range attacks. He would either strike the ground near Satan and cause him to stumble from the earthquake-like shaking or bring bolts of lightning down on him. 

"Come on, don't let up!" Shiro shouted, encouraging them to fight with everything. Suddenly a golden light appeared in the air just a few feet from the majority of them. A woman dressed in a blue business suit fell to the ground a few feet below. 

"What on earth?" Arthur asked. Olad turned around and picked her up, carrying her over to the other side and out of harm's way. 

"Are you alright miss?" He asked. "What are you doing her?" 

"Your holiness!" Shiro ran over to her. 

"You know her?" Eli asked. Iman had turned around to watch what was going on but still kept reciting. 

"I do. Everyone, this person is the one called God." They all looked dumbfounded. Iman's chanting began to slow before he stopped all together, staring at her in the same shock the others all felt. 

"That's our god?" Arthur asked. 

"Well, not really _our_ god. Each head deity exists as a manifestation of hope in the afterlife, her realm. She is the one who created the different realms however, along with all life." Shiro explained. "But your holiness, what are you doing here?" 

"Well..." She rubbed the back of her head nervously. They heard Satan begin to burst out laughing. They all turned their attention to him as he held his sides from laughing so hard. 

"No, please... please tell me this isn't a joke." He said through the laughter. "You lost your powers, you actually manged to lose your powers. How did you even manage to do that?" She opened her mouth to respond but stopped when a similar golden light appeared. Another figured appeared on the battlefield and Satan ceased his laughter. Rin had materialized in between the two sides. Everyone could only stare at him as he stood surrounded in a golden aura. 

"Rin?" Shiro was amazed. 

"No..." Satan took a step back. "No, what... what are you?" He began to sound afraid, something none of them had heard before. 

"I am a god now." He answered as plain as ever. "And i've come to send you back to where you belong." He drew his two relic swords and held them out to either side in a casual manner. 

"You brat." Satan now scowled at him. "I am your father!"

"No." Rin turned around and pointed to Shiro. "He is my father." He turned back to Satan and stared him down with those unfeeling eyes. "You're just a monster." Satan gave off a noise of anger and rushed in, sending a punch straight at Rin. Rin caught it with his left hand, seeming totally unphased by his now power increase. His sword float there in air where he once held it. The Demon Lord felt fear once more. Rin lifted him up into the air by his wrist then brought him crashing back down to the freeway. He then took hold of his sword once more and jumped high into the air. As Satan was trying to get back up Rin came crashing down, causing a section of the freeway to break off and fall down. The others on the bridge all just stared in stunned silence. 

* * *

"Do you think he's ok?" Shiemi asked. 

"I think we both know the answer to that." Yukio replied. He was now driving a small sedan towards the others. After the council meeting he had suddenly just appeared back in the academy atrium. The portal was now gone along with the circle used to create it and Rin was left to fight God, creator of the entire universe, by himself. Yukio knew he didn't stand a chance. He just tried now to think about it as he drove over to aid the others. 

"Hey!" He heard a familiar voice shout. He saw his Ryuji waving at him, the rest of his students all nearby. He pulled up alongside them and rolled down the window. "Hey Professor, your dad told us to wait here in case you guys showed back up." He looked around the car. "Where's Okumura?" 

Yukio looked down and by the pained expression he was giving Ryuji already had a feeling. "Rin's not coming back. I'll explain everything later."

"I see." Was all Ryuji could say. "Well you had better get up there in case-" 

Crash!

A section of the freeway came down and a cloud of debris shot all around they all looked over to see Rin surrounded in a golden aura and standing on top of Satan. He backflipped off him. 

"Rin?!" Yukio sounded shocked. 

"Holy crap, what happened to Okumura?" Ryuji asked. Satan began to pick himself up from the road. 

"You think you cane beat me? Do you think becoming a god gives you even a sliver of a chance?" He lunged in with both hands in an attempt to grab him. Rin grabbed him by the wrists and his swords suddenly flew behind him. He lifted Satan up into the air and slammed him to the ground twice in the same manner he had before. He then kicked the Demon Lord and sent him flying backwards. 

"It seems you don't understand the difference in power here now. Let me show you." Rin began casually making his way down the street. 

"Did he say... Okumura became a god?" Ryuji asked. 

Down the road Satan got out of the hole that was created in the building and created a massive ball of fire in his hand. He pitched it straight down the street towards Rin. Rin held out one hand and stopped the attack. He slid back a couple inches but was now holding the ball of fire. He ran at Satan, holding the ball of fire in his own hands now. When he got close enough he slammed Satan's own attack into him. The ball of blue flames exploded, destroying the overpass above it along with a small building nearby. Satan was sent flying away and crashed into the side of another building. He sat against in and panted, exhausted from taking such a ferocious series of attacks. Rin suddenly appeared a few meters away from him. All of his swords were now sheathed. He held out his  right hand to the side and a new sword materialized. The holy sword Excalibur. 

"What? But how?" Satan shouted, surprised Rin knew of it. Rin lifted the sword above his head and then threw it. It sailed through the air like a missile and stabbed into Satan's guy. "GYAAAA!" He cried in pain. Rin held his hand towards it with his palm open after throwing it. He closed his fingers in towards his palm and the fire blade came out. It cut through Satan and came out the other end of the building. Rin then raised his arm up. The sword flew up and cut through Satan, exiting out his right collarbone. HE let out another painful shout. The sword then disappeared and Satan sat there beaten and unable to move. 

"Please, stop this my son. We could work together." He tried to plead but it fell on deaf ears. 

"I would never work with you. Now..." Rin raised one hand into the air with his palm up. A massive ball of golden flames even bigger than Satan's formed in his hand. "Begone!" He shouted. He tossed the attack right for the Demon Lord to finish him off. Satan held out his hands to try and stop it but it was no use. That he managed to hold it back for a few seconds the sheer power overtook him and it exploded into a large ball of golden fire then engulfed both Rin and Satan. The others on the bridge along with the students of True Cross came rushing onto the scene seconds after the fire had dissipated. All that was left there was a large blackened scorch mark and Rin, standing there facing towards where Satan last was. 

"He... he did it." Ryuji said in awe. 

"Rin..." Yukio was at a loss for words. Rin suddenly fell, sitting on the ground now. 

"Rin!" Shiemi ran over to him. "Rin, you did it! You beat him!" 

"I did." He replied. 

"It's all thanks to you Rin, you saved everyone!" She cheered. 

"Not exactly." He held up his hand. She noticed that his fingers looked like paper that was beginning to turn to ash and burn away. Everyone looked shocked. 

"Rin, what's going on?" Shiemi asked panicked. 

"Mortal bodies aren't able to hold in that kind of power." He told her. "I knew that when I defeated God and told her to relinquish her power to me. I used it to defeat Satan, but at the cost of my own life." 

"Rin... you're-"

"Dying." He finished for her. "Yes." 

"Rin..." Yukio approached him. 

"It's just like I told you Yukio." Rin suddenly stated. "Actions have consequences. Not even I am exempt from that." By now his entire left arm had vanished and his right was halfway there.

"Rin, please don't die!" Shiemi shook him and begged. 

"I'm sorry, I can't do that." He replied, looking down with a morose expression. His feet were now burning away like ash. "In the end, my only regret was that I wasn't able to spend more time with you." Shiemi started to tear up. "I acted selfishly. I hurt people, pushed others out of my life, and acted simply to my own interests. I've said it before, i'm not a good guy. But... i'm sorry that I couldn't be." His legs had now disappeared and his torso was starting to burn off and scatter as ashes into the wind. His fellow students and even the other relic bearers began to cry. Though he tried to hide it, even Arthur was tearing up a little. 

"Rin." Yukio knelt down beside him. "I'm glad that we managed to put our past behind us. I hope that one day you can be reborn and get another chance." Rin nodded to his brother, contempt with that as his departing words. 

"Shiemi." Rin looked to her one last time. "I know you're sad now, but please... for me don't forget how to smile." With that he closed his eyes and smiled at her. Something he had not done in years. Shiemi tired to reach out to touch him but by then it was too late. He face and head now turned into ash and burned away with the rest of him. She could no longer hold back the tears. She sat there on her knees and began to bawl. 

"Can you do something?" Iman asked Arthur. 

"No." Arthur shook his head and sounded very grimace. "The power of the nails can only heal physical wounds. This is beyond my control." Iman looked away and stared down where Rin had just slowly burned away. Even he, cold hearted as he could be, began to cry after watching his student pass. 

"Rest in peace my son." Shiro closed his eyes and gave him that blessing. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see God there. 

"Shiro, it's time to go back now." She told him. An aura of gold light began to shine off her for a second before fading. "Your job here is done." Shiro looked away for a moment. 

"Yukio." He called out. yukio turned back to his father. "I'm so proud of you. Both of you." Though he was still crying Yukio managed to smile back at his dad. Then the next moment both he and God began to glow into silhouettes of gold light and disappeared back to heaven, leaving the living to grieve. 

* * *

**Years later...**

A blonde woman in a dress with a flowery design walked into the Okumura garden within the True Cross Academy town. After the battle the Demon Kings had begun to regain form. Lucifer and Mephisto did almost instantly after Satan's defeat. It was said that the weaker ones would take awhile, perhaps even years. Mephisto took his spot as the Chairman once more and continued to run True Cross Academy and the cram school. Shiemi and her classmates all graduated from True Cross and became exorcists. They had all gone out into the field but Shiemi didn't stay long. She began working as a doctor off the field and used her knowledge of medicinal herbs to help treat the injured. She lived in the same house she did when she was a kid. Her mother had saved up for retirement and was now enjoying it in Fiji. Shiemi now lived there with her husband and son. 

Today she was taking him to the Okumura Garden, the spot where Rin had defeated Satan and sent him back to Gehenna. The burnt and scorched earth had soon given way to new life and a memorial garden was created in its place. There was a square stone center piece in the middle of the garden that read "In memory to our savior." Around the memorial was different types of flowers. Shiemi had planned and planted everything in that garden during its creation. She was proud of it. She took her son along the stone path to the center. Both of them placed a flower down at the center. Her son was only five, and he had short blonde hair and blue eyes just like her. 

"Mommy, why is this called the Okumura Garden?" He asked innocently. 

"Because it was named after someone special." She explained with a smile on her face. Shiemi was older now so she was much taller that she was before. Her hair was tied up in the back into a loose bun. 

"What kind of flowers are these?" He pointed to the few in front of them. 

"Those are chrysanthemums dear." She answered. "You certainly are curious aren't you?"

"Mhmm." He nodded. "I like learnin' stuff. Like, why did you and daddy name me Rin?" She looked down at the flowers and smiled. Though he was too young to tell, her smile seemed almost fake. It was to hide her sadness. 

"You were named after the bravest person I ever met." She explained. 

"Wow." He marveled at that. 

"Hey Shiemi." A woman's voice casually greeted her. Shiemi looked back to see Shura approaching. She was dressed in her usual attire with an exorcist's coat hanging open over top. 

"Oh, hello Miss Kirigakure." Shiemi stood up and greeted her with a smile. 

"Hey, i'm not your teacher anymore. You can call me Shura you know." Shura told he. 

"Oh, alright." 

"Oh my, aren't you getting big?" Shura said as she looked at Rin. 

"Yeah!" He smiled back at her. 

"So, what brings you here?" Shiemi asked her former teacher. 

"Ah, just passing by on my way to a job. I saw you and thought i'd say hello." She explained casually. "I can't stay long though, Yukio's waiting on me." 

"Oh, how is Yuki doing?" Shiemi asked. 

"Ah, same old same old." She replied. "I take it your paying your respects huh?" 

"Mhmm." Shiemi nodded and suddenly looked solemn. "Well, I had better get back home soon. I need to tend to my own garden back home." 

"Ow!" They heard a boy cry out nearby. The two women and Rin looked to see a group of three boys slightly older than Rin beating up on another boy. "I told you I don't have any money!" Their victim cried. 

"Shut up!" One ordered him before delivering a swift punch to the gut. 

"Mommy, they're hurting him." Rin tugged on her dress. 

"I'll take care of it." Shura offered. Shiemi nodded to her in response. 

"Come on Rin, lets' go home." She took hold of him by the hand.

"Okay mommy." He obeyed his mother and went along with her. Shura watched them depart. 

"Agh!" Shura heard someone else shout. She looked back over to the scene to see a new kid appear. He jumped on the one that was beating the first and and began beating him back. It looked like the bully was receiving the beating of a lifetime while his two friends were too scared to help. A police officer came by and ended up pulling the new boy off the other. That's when Shura got a good look at him. The hero who had come in to intervene had short and messy blueish-black hair and blue eyes. He looked just like a younger version of Rin. The officer began to scold the boy for attacking the other while the boy began to defend himself as helping the other. Shura smiled at the scene before walking away. 

_Good luck this time kid._ She thought silently as she exited the garden. 


End file.
